Turning Your Time Around
by Cheelalaucha
Summary: Things get pretty crazy when Neville is sent to 1974. Who are his friends and foes? And, can he lie to save his life? NOT slash. NL,RW,SS,AD...Ch.23: Malfoy and Neville try to find a safe place.
1. Prologue

**Summary: Neville finds himself in 1974 (fourth year for James) and meets the one and only Lily Evans. But, to get back to his own time, he has to get Lily E. and James P. together. Can shy, not-so-bright Neville do the job given by Merlin? And, it will take more than one person to defeat Voldemort, just in time for a new threat. Deception lies just around the corner.**

**Disclaimer**: **I made up some characters, but the rest are owned by J. K. Rowling.**

**Rating: PG-13 (some violence & language as the story goes on)**

_**Turning Your Time Around**_

_**By: Cheelalaucha**_

_**-**_

_Prologue:_

_'The Last Day in the Present'_

_**-**_

Neville had been talking to Professor Trelawney after class about his "Inner Eye". She began telling him about how he tries to hard to see things.

But, she started babbling about some prophecy. He couldn't really understand it until she mentioned his Gryffindor friend, Harry Potter. She held up her crystal ball and an image of the Headmaster of Hogwarts talking to Harry appeared in it.

He began to hear the words of their conversation. After listening to it all, he couldn't believe his ears. He wondered if Professor Trelawney was trying to get her point across about working too hard, but she hadn't any memory of even asking him to stay after class.

He rushed out of Trelawney's classroom so fast, he didn't even realize he'd gone down three flights of stairs before he stopped. He then searched frantically for Harry, but he couldn't find him anywhere. He did, however, find Ron trying to curse Malfoy for something he said. Neville, seeing Ron didn't have anyone with him, came in to back him up. After all, Malfoy had his two goons.

Malfoy's attack hit him instead, and moments later, he was laying on the ground. But, when he got to his feet, Ron and Malfoy were gone. He wasn't sure what had happened. They didn't just evaporate, Neville knew that.

_Who is this girl with red hair?_

_**-**_

**A/N:** This is short, but it's just an overview of Neville's last day in the present. The chapters DO get longer. Enjoy.


	2. A, Pain in the Back

_**Turning Your Time Around  
**__**By: Cheelalaucha  
Chapter dedicated to: Miss Hay, my english teacher & the Student Council organizer.**_

_**A; Chapter 2: "Pain In the Back"

* * *

**_

Neville was laying on his back, outside, on the grass. He opened his eyes to see the bright blue sky above him. There weren't any clouds to be seen anywhere.

_What? It was just about to rain. What the bloody hell's just happened?_

Neville moved his arm up slowly to push his messed-up hair out of his face, then rolled over onto his stomach so that he could get up easier. His whole backside was aching terribly. He must have fallen back hard. After taking two minutes to reach his feet, he gazed around the crowd that was gathered around him.

_Oh cripes, why do so many people like watching duels? I hate crowds. I bet I did something stupid like tripped over myself while the curse was on me._

Neville had assumed that they had gathered to watch the fight between Malfoy, Ron and him. But, he wasn't aware that he was in a different time, so there was no cause for alarm... yet.

"Maybe he needs to see the nurse." Neville heard a girl behind him say. He turned around to see a girl with dark red hair inching toward him.

"Are you all right?" The girl asked him.

"I think so," Neville replied warily.

"What's your name?" The girl asked as if he were a small child.

Neville really didn't want to have this conversation. He didn't want to be in front of every body either. All he wanted to do was lay down on his bed and relax. When Neville didn't answer the other's question, she came up closer to him and spoke again.

"Do you want to see the nurse?"

Neville was going to say no, but he felt a sharp pain race up his back. Neville winced, then answered with out looking at the girl. "Oh, yeah, I guess that would be a good idea."

"Come on, I'll help you up there," The girl said with a concerned tone.

Neville took a few small steps forward, and then, side by side, they walked slowly into the castle. They made it to the hospital wing in about fifteen minutes, since Neville was walking so slow.

"Madam Pomfrey? Are you here?" The girl yelled into the empty room.

Just then, Madam Pomfrey dashed out of a door on the right. "Yes dear. How may I help you?" Madam Pomfrey asked her with a smile.

"Uh, well, I think he got cursed by someone," the girl waved her hand towards Neville.

"What happened, dear?" She asked Neville.

"Malfoy cursed me with something and I fell backwards. My back is killing me," Neville answered her, shifting his position.

"Malfoy? Heh, well, let me take a look," Madam Pomfrey replied, walking over to Neville. "Can you bend forward and touch your toes?"

Neville moved slightly forward, but straightened up again. "Uh..."

Madam Pomfrey looked at him impatiently. "Well, come on dear! I don't have the whole school year!"

Neville immediately replied to that. "I can't go forward any further without hurting."

"Ah, yes, well you don't have to. It's probably just a sore back. I'll give you a pain-relieving potion and you can stay down here tonight." Madam Pomfrey said it as more of an order than a question, so Neville just nodded. With that, she dashed back off into the room at the right to get the potion.

"Um, why don't you sit down or something?" The girl asked him. She led him to the closest bed, and Neville sat down, gently. Neville was surprised when she sat down beside him. "What's your name?" She asked for the second time.

"Neville," he replied.

"I'm Lily Evans, Gryffindor, fourth year. What house are you in?" She asked him happily.

"I'm in Gryffindor too," Neville said, rubbing his shoulder. He kept having sharp pains in his left shoulder and his back.

_What in the world? I must have done a somersault before I landed on my back. Geez!_

Lily looked at him curiously. "I've never seen you at the Gryffindor table before - or the common room."

"I'm easy to miss," Neville told her.

But, Lily still looked at him with questioning eyes. After a few moments, she glanced down at the floor uneasily.

"What's wrong?" Neville asked her.

Lily raised her eyes back to him.

"Well... uh, well you said that you were attacked by Malfoy, but I didn't see him anywhere. And, he can't run away that fast. But, it is possible, I guess. I mean Lucius Malfoy's not a great person."

Neville, who had been looking out the window, shot his eyes back to Lily as quick as lightning.

"Lucius? I'm talking about Draco Malfoy." Neville gave her a weird look.

Lily gave Neville the same look back. "Who? What are you talking about?"

* * *

**A/N:** What did you think? I'd like to know, so please review. 


	3. A, The Writer of the Realm

_**Turning Your Time Around  
**__**By: Cheelalaucha  
**__**Chapter dedicated to: Mr. Allen, my science teacher.**_

_**A; Chapter 3: "The Writer of the Realm"

* * *

**_

"Draco Malfoy. You've never heard of him?" Neville asked suspiciously. He still had a weird glare upon Lily.

"No, because there is no such person," Lily replied with a confident voice.

"What are you talking about? 'No such person'? Are you sure?" Neville asked.

_How could she not have heard of him? He does make himself known!_

"I'm positive. I know of every one around here, and there is no other Malfoy than Lucius in the 1974 school year," Lily told him with a large amount of pride.

"No," Neville began. He didn't know what the heck this girl was talking about. "It's 1999. Why would I want to know about-" (Neville was calculating, not his strong point). "-thirty-five years ago?"

"Twenty-five years ago," Lily corrected, and then realized what she'd said. "Wait, what? No, Now! Are you okay? I think you might have hit your head when you fell. Maybe you should lay down."

"Yea, right," Neville said, thinking she was just as crazy as Lily thought he was. Neville started to move up further on the bed, but stopped when the pain began again in his shoulder. He started to rub it with his other hand again.

"Oh, are you okay?" Lily asked him kindly, seeming to have forgotten about the crazy chat they had just had.

"I've been better," Neville said truthfully.

"I'll go make sure Madam Pomfrey hasn't forgotten about you," Lily said, not meaning it in a bad way. She got up off the side of the bed and walked through the door on the right.

_1974? What's with her? _

Just then, he saw a picture moving on the table next to him. The picture was in the _Daily Prophet..._

_There, I'll prove it!_

He picked up the paper and read the date. "November 11, 1974," Neville read aloud.

_What the-? I bet she planted it here. She prolly wants to play a joke on me. 'Neville, the stupid and gullible.' Great. _

But, how could he be sure that he wasn't losing his mind? Neville looked around the room, thinking.

_Of course, the paintings!_

Neville got up from the bed, still clutching his left shoulder with his other hand. He walked over to the closest painting. It was a young woman with wavy blond hair. She had a dark red dress on, and was sitting at a desk, writing. She smiled brightly when Neville spoke to her.

"Hello," Neville said, trying to sound happy and not crazy.

"Hello there, sir. Having a good day?" She replied in a high-pitched voice, still smiling.

"Well, not really. As a matter of fact, it's one of the worst days I've ever had." Neville never took his eyes off the lady in the painting, as he did all too often when he talked. He really was quite shy.

"Aw, I'm sorry to hear that. Is there something I can do for you?" She asked him happily.

"Actually, I was wondering if you could tell me something," Neville said, looking thoughtful. "What's the year?"

"The year, sir, is 1974. November, I believe. Why do you ask?" She looked him over, but smiled the whole time.

"Uh...um... thank- thank you." Neville stuttered.

"May I ask your name, sir? I don't get many people to talk to. The last time I talked to someone on the other side was about thirty years ago." Her smile faded a bit, but it was still slightly visible.

"Neville." He watched as she wrote something down in a small book on the desk. He supposed she was writing his name down.

"Thank you, Neville. You don't know how nice it is to be talking to someone. Do you have many people to talk to out there?"

Neville frowned. Oh yeah, he had _tons_ of people. If only all dreams could come true... "I hardly have any friends. I'm just a - what was it muggles say? Oh yeah - geek."

"I'm sorry that people can't see how kind you are. That's their problem." Her smile became bright again as she watched Neville.

"Um, may I ask what your name is?" Neville asked her, recovering from his tiny depression trip.

"Cherry-Rose. Hense the red dress." She replied, waving down at her flowing gown.

"That's a pretty name," Neville said, more meaning to say it to himself than to her.

"Why thank you, Neville. You know, when I was your age, people actually called me Esor. Uh, 'rose' backwards. You're welcome to call me that too."

Her words were making his day brighter with every sentence. He had made a new friend. That's always something to feel happy about, especially for Neville since he didn't have many.

"Thank you," Neville said, a smile overcoming his face.

Just then, Lily came walking back into the room, followed by Madam Pomfrey.

"Talk to you later, for sure," Neville whispered to her. She smiled again, and nodded. Neville limped slowly back towards the bed he'd been sitting on before. He couldn't walk properly since his back was hurting him so much.

"Here," Madam Pomfrey said to him, holding out a small bottle. "Take this and wait **ten** minutes before you lay down. You'll stay here for the rest of the night, understood?"

"Yes," Neville agreed to the question again. He took the bottle from her and she walked back out of the room. When she was out of sight, Lily sat down on the bed again. Neville did the same.

"She did forget about you, sorry. It took me a while to find her. She was down in the Great Hall, helping with someone who was getting cursed. Those freaks. Potter's the biggest though," Lily said, a look of disgust on her face.

"Potter?" Neville asked, taking his eyes off the potion that seemed to be moving in the bottle.

"Yeah, James Potter. How the heck did he get in Gryffindor anyway? He's always picking on the people who around him. I guess Snape did deserve it a bit, but Potter shouldn't have taken it so far." Lily glanced at Neville's face. He seemed so confused that words couldn't express it. "Are you okay?" Lily asked him.

Neville thought about what she'd said for a moment, then came to a conclusion. He replied, "Just crazy, but who isn't now a days?"

Lily raised an eyebrow at him. But, she looked at the potion just then. It was indeed moving inside the bottle. "I think you should drink it before it jumps out of there," Lily told him.

Neville agreed. He tipped the bottle up and drank the thick liquid. It didn't taste like anything at first, but after a few seconds, he got a sour lemon taste all through his mouth. "Eh, that's horrible," Neville said, trying to get the taste off his tongue. For the first five minutes after, they just sat in silence. After that, Lily began humming a song Neville did not know.

"What is that you're humming?" Neville asked.

Lily smiled at him. "It's called _'Merlin's March'_.My father was a singer, so he'd always sing it to me."

"Really? Your dad? Wow." Neville then thought about something he hadn't thought of in a long time. He wondered what his father had been like.

_Was he a 'geek' too? Naw, I bet he was brave. Nothing like me. _

Then it hit him - was his father here?

"Lily, you know everyone, right?" Neville asked.

"Well, I know OF everyone. I don't know them personally. Why?" She replied.

"Is there a Frank Longbottom here?" Neville wanted desperately to see his father.. _sane_.

Lily sat there a second, thinking. "Uh... there used to be."

"Used to be?" Neville repeated.

"Um, yeah. He was here until 5th year. After that, I never saw him again. I think he went to a different school or something," Lily recalled to him.

Neville's face got a frown on it then. This was the one chance he had to see him, and he wasn't there. But, wait, there's still his mom. "What about an Alice Fulinar?" Neville asked desperately.

"Oh, she's here. She's a Hufflepuff."

_Yes! I can see mum! Wait, I can see mum. Why in the world is that? I have to be in the wrong time. Wait- did she say James Potter, and.. Snape? Bloody hell, what's going on!_

By this time, the 10 minutes was up, and Neville was feeling some relief of the pain in his back and shoulder. He wanted to run down to the Great Hall to see his mum, but he knew he'd never get there with his back the way it was. Neville frowned again, but knew that at least he could see her later.

"I think I'm going to go to sleep," Neville said to Lily.

"Okay. Well, I'll be back tomorrow morning to see you," Lily told him. She got up and waved goodbye. She walked out the door, leaving Neville to get into bed.

It took him a long while to get under the coverings because of his back. Every time he moved too quickly, his shoulder gave a sharp pain. Aching, Neville pulled the covers to his chin, and closed his eyes.

_James Potter, Snape, and this Lily girl. I hate that Malfoy. I know he did this, he's the only one who would have. But, I guess if it wasn't me, it'd be Ron laying here. Oh well... _

The sound of a song entered the air as Esor began to sing. She must have noticed how much he liked Lily's humming.

"Thanks," Neville whispered.

He then drifted into a deep sleep, dreaming about what his mum and dad were like.

* * *

**A/N:** Revised May 17, 2005. 


	4. The First Meeting

**A/N: **Neville is technically sleeping, but not quite.. you'll see soon enough...

_**Turning Your Time Around  
**__**By: Cheelalaucha  
**__**Chapter dedicated to: Mrs. Frascatore, my wonderful math teacher who made me understand math for the first time in three years! Thank you so much!**_

_**Chapter 4: "The First Meeting"

* * *

**_

**Lily had just left Neville sleeping in the hospital wing.**

_Neville. **NEVILLE**." _

_There was black all around him, he couldn't even see himself._ _A voice kept saying his name, but he couldn't tell which way it was coming from._ _Suddenly, a scene was playing before him, as if he were watching a movie. _

_He saw his mother. She was clearly different, because she was talking to someone. She never had much to say when he would visit her in St. Mungo's. _

_He wasn't sure what he was watching, until the man she was talking to held out a small box. He opened it to show her.. It was a ring.. A wedding ring. _

_Neville couldn't hear the words, but he could see the surprise in his sane mother's eyes. And then, happiness. _

_Just then, the black returned. And before Neville could feel sad about it, a new image appeared. But this one was totally different. _

_This time, he saw Professor Severus Snape holding his wand out. He was pointing it at Dumbledore. Snape was talking to him, looking very angry. Neville noticed McGonagall beside Snape, holding out her wand too. A bright white light shot out of both their wands and formed a dome over Dumbledore._

_What in the world was he watching!_

_He didn't have time to find out. There was black again._

_Neville stood very still, hardly even breathing. _

_"Neville. **NEVILLE**!" The voice boomed._

_Neville jumped in surprise and looked all around, desperate to see something. _

_At that moment, the ground seemed to break beneath him. He fell in the darkness. His heart was pounding fast in his chest. _

_'What's happening!' (he thought) _

_In seconds, he found himself on his back, a cold surface under him._

_"Neville!" One voice said. "Mr. Longbottom." Another voice said._

_Neville's eyes snapped open. Two blue, see-through figures were looking down at him. It was Ron and Professor Snape. _

_"Wha-wha-" Neville sputtered in a whisper. _

_"Are you all right?" Ron asked him. _

_"I g-guess," Neville spoke quietly._

_"What is this place?" Ron asked, looking around. _

_Neville glanced around, too. _

_They were outside. The sun was up, but clouds were blocking it's rays. _

_Neville lifted his head up to see a castle standing before them. It wasn't Hogwarts, but it looked old. _

_Ron put a hand down to help him up, but Neville shook his head. Neville turned over on his stomach, and got on his hands and knees. He then lifted himself up, carefully. He was sure if he'd gotten up any other way, he'd hurt his back again. _

_"Why are you blue?" Ron asked Neville._

_"What?" Neville said, holding up his arm to see if it was true. _

_"Woa. You're blue too," Neville stated, pointing at Ron. _

_"Bloody hell! We're all blue!" Ron yelled._

_"Contain yourself, Mr. Weasley," Snape scolded._

_"We're all blue and see-through, what am I supposed to act like!" Ron shouted back. _

_Snape scowled at him. "Detention, Mr. Weasley." _

_Ron glared at him with pure hatred, but before he could reply, someone apparated before them. _

_Snape took out his wand and pointed it at the person. _

_The old man was dressed entirely in light dark purple. _

_"Lower your wand," the man spoke with no real feeling. _

_Snape didn't move a bit. He looked over the man, trying to figure out his motives. _

_"Who are you?" Snape asked the man slowly. _

_"Merlin. Now, lower your wand Snape," The man replied nastily. _

_"You're who?" Ron asked in surprise. _

_"Merlin," he said, looking quite tiered of being asked. _

_"THE Merlin?" Ron asked. _

_"Yes, now you-" he turned his head to Professor Snape "-lower that wand or I'll lower it for you." _

_Snape hesitated for a moment, then let his arm with the wand go to his side._

_"Thank you," the man Merlin said, showing his first sign of politeness. He turned to Neville and spoke. "Now, would you care to tell them where you are?" _

_Merlin waved his hand to where Snape and Ron stood. _

_"What? Oh, um, I'm in.. I mean, I was in 1974. Still at Hogwarts." Neville looked glum as he spoke. _

_Even though Snape Ron gave him odd looks, Merlin didn't seem to have cared. It was as if he knew it already. _

_"You still are in 1974. None of you are really here._ _You're in the Vision Realm. It is only, one might say, your photo-frame and mind that are here. Neville, you are sleeping. You two are talking to Subla. The headmaster." Merlin added the last bit when he saw the confusion from them all._

_'Subla...subla.. Albus... albus- backwards!' Neville put it together in his head quickly, seeing as Esor had done the same thing with her name, Rose. _

_"Why did you call him that?" Ron asked before Neville could. _

_Merlin gave a huff and his face turned hateful. "That is what we do with wizard names, turn them backwards. Though, in this case, we are speaking of a dark wizard." _

_"What?" came from all three of them, though Snape seemed to be annoyed at the fact that he had thought to say the same thing as a little 6th year student. _

_"Right," Merlin began, "We are brought to the point of your visit. I must ask you to set that back at your side, Snape." _

_Professor Snape had raised his wand at Merlin and was now holding it steady before him. Snape didn't move a bit when asked to set down his wand again. _

_Now, though, Merlin shifted with his staff. He managed a glare, one never given so harshly, even from from Professor Snape's dark eyes. _

_"Put it down!" Merlin yelled, picking up his staff and slamming it into the ground hard. _

_Rumbles of thunder came rolling from everywhere, and the sky was tinted with purple._

_Snape did so after a moment's consideration. Ron and Neville though, looked terrified by the anger Merlin had._

_This time, Merlin didn't thank him, but just continued on with the reason for them being there. _

_"You have been brought to put the rightful people back in charge of Hogwarts. And, in doing so, you will expose Subla for what he is," Merlin said, more clam than moments before. _

_"What are you talking about?" Snape asked, still stung from being forced to lower his wand_

_"He, Subla, has been managing power that is not his. The originals, Ravenclaw, Gryffindor and the rest, are his power source. You've been wondering why he is so powerful - all three of you. The safe place that Hogwarts is would be even safer if you had the four and not Subla. And right now, we can use a safe place." _

_Merlin continued, looking at each of them in turn. "Now, we don't have a whole lot of time. Snape, research a way for Longbottom number two to return to the present. Ronald, go find the Ravenclaw you encountered earlier. Tell him he's in the future and that you're working on getting him back. Make sure he doesn't talk to the... **headmaster.** And you.. Longbottom number two.. wait here while I send the others back. You two, do NOT speak of this to anyone but each other. If you do, you shall regret it." Merlin ended with the same penetrating glare as before, directed at Snape._

_Before Snape could reply, Merlin waved his staff and they were gone. Neville couldn't turn away from the spots they had just disappeared, even when Merlin first spoke again. _

_"You are most unfortunate, Longbottom number two. When Ocard, um, Draco, threw that time-turner at you, it sent you into the past. But, another has been brought into the future. That is the Ravenclaw of whom I spoke of. As it is, this one boy was the reason for a series of events.. The events that led to the birth of who they, in your time, call The Boy Who Lived." _

_Neville turned to Merlin after hearing this, stunned. He waited for Merlin to explain more, which he did after looking Neville over. _

_"That Ravenclaw boy brought young Semaj and Snave together. They got married and then had The Boy Who Lived, or in our place known as The Bivorio. He is now in your time, and you in his real one. It has been made your task, should we not get you back quick enough, to get Semaj Snave together. The rest will fall into place. If you do not..." Merlin looked at him sternly. _

_'Wondered when he'd get there,' Neville thought. _

_"..You shall take Harry's place as The Bivorio. That would not end well.. for anyone." _

_Merlin was stern, but he felt sorry for Neville because what Ocard (Malfoy) did was not his fault. It wasn't right for him to have to perform this task. Though, all would be dead if Voldemort had chosen Neville, which would happen if he didn't perform the task. _

_With one last wave, Merlin said: "Don't you dare warn them. If you do, we're all dust."_

_Neville was back in the dark._

_An image came before him again. This one was of something he hated. _

_His Gran opened the doors. Neville walked in first, slowly. A screen was pulled before the beds. Step by step he walked, not knowing what to think.._

_'No, not this,' Neville thought. _

_The dark reappeared and Neville sighed with relief. He didn't want to see that again. It had been too bad the first time around. _

_But, just then a worse picture was shown before him.. _

_Two figures.. bodies.. face-down on the stone floor. They twitched as they lay. _

_'NO!' Neville thought again. _

_A man's voice came from around him, the same one that had been calling his name on the way to the Vision Realm. "Make it go away. Don't let it show power against you." _

_Neville couldn't take his eyes off the image, nor could he see how he could get it to stop. He was just frozen, as if he'd been hit with Petrificus Totalus curse. _

_The voice again spoke. "Make it go away. **MAKE IT GO AWAY**!" _

_Neville started to fall again, through the floor. _

"Neville? Wake up, please?" Lily's voice overpowered the one he'd heard seconds before.

Neville snapped open his eyes and tried to calm himself, but his heart kept beating harder and faster in his chest.

_Breath, just breath._

One long breath. Then another, and another.

"Ha," Lily giggled. "The Great Lily Evans does it again!"

_Snave...snave...Evans...evans... Lily! Oh geez...

* * *

_

**A/N:** The next chapter shows us what is going on in the presant.It starts from the dule that Ron and Malfoy were having when Neville got sent back.  
By the way, if you think this is just 'freak accident', I'm lettng you know that it's not. It's part of the Bunny's Plan, gone wrong... Oh, and you don't know who the Bunny is, so keep reading!


	5. B, Missing in War

**A/N: **THIS CHAPTER IS SET IN THE PRESANT TIME, right after Neville goes back. (Remember the dule w/ Malfoy?)  
**lucidity: **Your review brought smiles to me, and thank you for taking the time to review.

_**Turning Your Time Around  
**__**By: Cheelalaucha  
**__**Chapter dedicated to: Mr. Bick, my social studies teacher. He deserves a medal for putting up with "Zachoslovokia"/"Zach Crockett", Jenn, Bobbie, and Toni. Well, it's not a medal, but I hope this chapter dedication will do for now. Thanks for not murdering us all (even though you want to a lot)!**_

_**B; Chapter 5: "Missing in War"

* * *

**_

"What did you do!" Ron yelled at Malfoy.

"_Damn that Longbottom!_ Oh well, at least part of my problems are gone. Now, how about you, Weasley?" Malfoy glared at Ron with and evil grin on his face.

But, right at that moment, four D.A. members came walking up behind him. It was Harry, Hermione, Ginny and Luna. Every one of them had their own wands raised and pointing at Malfoy.

"Back off Malfoy, or we'll have to make you."

Draco Malfoy turned, and saw Harry had the same evil grin he did. Malfoy, seeing he was outnumbered greatly, waved his hand, and his goons followed him back into the castle.

Harry heard him mutter "You'll get yours, Potter." but he didn't really care. He walked up to Ron and lowered his wand.

"Are you okay?" Harry asked him.

"I'm fine, but Malfoy cursed or charmed or something-ed Neville," Ron told them in a nervous voice.

"Where is he?" Ginny asked.

Ron did a full turn, looking to see where Neville had ended up. But, he saw no sign of him. "Uh..I don't.. know. He's gone!"

They all exchanged scared glances. "Neville? Neville!" Hermione yelled. "Well, don't just stand there, we have to find him, he could be hurt!"

They all began to yell for him, searching behind trees, rocks, anything they could find.

"Wait, let's try the map!"

Harry ran into the castle, and into his dormitory. He pulled the map from his trunk and brought it back down to the grounds.

They all gathered around him to read.

Harry lifted every flap, read every page, and looked at every floor of Hogwarts on the map twice, but he couldn't find Neville Longbottom anywhere on it.

"He's not here!" Harry looked around at the others, who all had the same grave look he did.

"We have to tell Dumbledore," Hermione said. They all nodded in agreement and, as one, they went to the Headmaster's office.

When they reached the hall that led to Dumbledore's office, they saw Professor McGonagall walking by.

"Professor!" Hermione called to her.

Professor McGonagall jumped slightly in surprise. She sighed with relief when she saw Hermione. She then walked upto them, quickly.

"Miss Granger, please don't go around shouting like that, you could scare someone out of their wits!"

"Sorry Professor, but we've got to talk to you. Neville's disappeared!" Hermione told her.

Professor McGonagall looked at each of them.

"What do you mean disappeared?" she said with a frightened tone.

"He's no where in the castle, and he's not outside. We have to tell Professor Dumbledore," Harry said to her.

"Mister Potter, I'm sure he's there, you're just not looking hard enough. Now, please go back to your dormitories." Professor McGonagall started to walk away, but Harry kept talking.

"Please, Professor! He's not here! We need to tell-" Professor McGonagall cut him off.

"Professor Dumbledore isn't in him office at the moment, so you mind as well wait to tell him anything. Now, return to your dormitories, or I'll take points away from your houses," McGonagall said in her strict voice.

Harry looked pleadingly at her, but she just walked past them and turned the corner.

"Let's tell Hagrid," Ron suggested.

"Right." Harry nodded, and they all followed him down to Hagrid's.

When they got there, they knocked loudly on the door. Nothing happened. Fang wasn't even barking. They waited a few minutes and then knocked again. Still nothing.

"He must be out," Ron said.

Harry and Hermione looked frantically around for Hagrid.

"Where could he be?" Hermione said, sounding scared.

"Well, what do we do now?" Ginny asked Harry. But, Hermione answered.

"We have to tell a teacher!"

"But who?" Ginny asked.

Hermione looked slowly up at Harry, and he could tell what she was thinking.

"Oh no! We're not telling him." Harry stared at Hermione seriously.

"Who?" Ginny asked them. "Who are you talking about?"

"Professor Snape," Luna said in her dreamy voice.

"You can't tell him, he'll think we're the ones who've done something wrong to him!" Ron told Hermione.

"He's still a teacher, Ron. He's not our enemy. What if Neville's hurt! What if Vol-Voldemort's got him!" Hermione said in a scared voise.

"Why would he want him? What's he got to with the war - nothing!" Ron yelled at her.

"You're right, this is war! In which case, do you really think he cares if Neville's not big in it? Did Wormtail care when he killed those muggles? No, so what reason do we need other than this is war!" Hermione spilled this all out so quickly, but each of them heard every word.

Harry thought about this for a moment. What if Hermione was right? Maybe Voldemort wanted to get rid of any thret he had. After all, Neville could have been "The Boy Who Lived" if not for Voldemort chosing Harry. Harry knew that Neville could never take Voldemort, that was a for-sure thing. But, did Voldemort himself know this? And Hermione.. Even if she didn't know all about the prophecy, she seemed as though she did. Good ol' Hermione.

Harry looked at Hermione and said firmly, "Let's go."

Hermione nodded, then turned and walked with Harry up to the castle.

Ginny rolled her eyes and grabbed Ron by the arm and dragged him along.

* * *

**A/N#2:** In the next chapter, a new character (the Ravenclaw student) comes into the story. Please tell me what you think of the chapter. Thanks. 


	6. B, The Safe and Sound Approach

**_Note: _**All characters, besides the ones I made up, belong to J.K. Rowling. Most of us, if not all, owe our thanks to her for telling us Harry's magical tale.  
**Also:** This chapter is still in the presant time.

_**Turning Your Time Around**_

**_Chapter 6: "The Safe & Sound Approach"_**

* * *

(Harry, Hermione, Ron, Ginny & Luna go to tell Snape about the disappearance of Neville)

They made it as far as the door to the dungeons when they heard Snape yelling.

"I bet he's torturing someone in there," Ron said.

"Oh Ron, shut up!" Hermoine snapped back at him.

She pressed her ear against the dungeon door to hear what they were saying. Harry and Ginny did the same.

_"Where's Professor Stole? What have you done with her!" _

_"For the last time, I don't have a clue as to what you're saying!" Snape yelled back at the Ravenclaw._

_"What is that, a joke? You're not funny, you know that?"_

_"I-AM-A-TEACHER. YOU WILL SPEAK TO ME IN THE CORRECT TONE, OR YOU'll BE ON THE TRAIN HOME - EXPELLED." Snape's voice roared throughout the dungeons._

They didn't here anything for a moment until Snape spoke again. His voice had quieted slightly.

_"Sit."_

They heard the boy move around. He had calmed down a bit.

_"Now, I don't know what you're talking about. I am the Potions Master of Hogwarts, Professor Snape. Professor Stole hasn't been here for nearly seventeen years."_

_"You-you're-you're who?" The boy asked, clearly very frightened. _

_"Professor Snape. Go back to your dormitory and get some sleep, you obviously need it. Well? Get going! NOW!" _

There were footsteps on the other side of the door, and Harry, Hermione & Ginny rushed away down the hall. Ron and Luna followed close behind.

They peered around the corner at the end of the hall.

A boy dressed in his school robes walked out. His face had a look of horror on it.

"What's going on?" The boy whispered to himself.

"Come on, let's go talk to him," Harry said to the others.

They all followed him as he walked up to the boy. The boy stared at Harry, not knowing what to say.

"Hello," Harry said in a plain voice.

"Hello," the boy replied uneasily.

"Did you get in trouble with Snape?" Ron asked the boy.

"Uh, well, I don't know," he told them.

"Okay," Ron said slowly, raising an eyebrow.

Without another word, the boy walked passed them and down around the corner.

"What was all that about?" Ron asked.

"I don't know," Harry replied. "Come on, we've got to tell Snape."

As Harry and Hermione led the way, Ron, Ginny and Luna followed.

Harry knocked on the door loudly.

"Who is it?" Snape yelled in his normal angry voice.

But, before Harry could answer, Snape opened the door. He looked like he'd been thinking hard about something because he wasn't really looking at them. He was glancing off to the side.

"What do you want, Potter?" Snape snapped, still thinking.

"It's Neville, sir. He's missing," Hermoine told him.

"What are you talking about, Granger?"

"He's nowhere!" Ginny piped up.

"Well, he has to be somewhere, of he wasn't he wouldn't exist," Snape said to her.

"Please, sir, we can't find him!" Hermine pleaded.

"Look harder," Snape said simply.

Snape then went to shut the door, but a voice came from his fire.

"Severus, is Mr. Potter there?"

Dumbledore's head was floating in Snape's fire.

"Yes Headmaster," Snape replied glumly.

"Could you all join me in my office?" Dumbledore asked politely.

"Yes Headmaster," Snape repeated.

Dumbledore's head disappeared with a 'pop'.

Snape turned back to Harry.

"Hurry up," Snape ordered them.

They walked up to Dumbledore's office together and entered from the staircase.

Dumbledore was the only one in there, aside from the paintings.

"Please sit down," Dumbledore told them.

He was sitting behind his desk, looking over his half-moon glasses.

There was just enough seats for them all. They all sat there in silence until Dumbledore spoke.

"It had come to my attention that our Mister Longbottom is missing," Dumbledore said, not changing his tone of voice.

"Yes, sir," Harry replied.

"What makes you think this?" Dumbledore asked them.

"I looked on the Marauders Map and I couldn't find him anywhere on it. He's not in the castle, sir." Harry hoped Dumbledore of all people would believe him.

"Well, that is because he is visiting his Grandmother," Dumbledore said before getting out of his chair. "I must ask you to not go scaring any more of our professors, Miss Granger."

Hermione's face was turning slightly red. "Yes sir."

Ron looked over at Harry with a look that said "what the heck?"

Ron knew that Neville hadn't gone to see his grandmother. He had seen him, and then he was gone in an instant. What was Dumbledore trying to hide from them? Could he be scared, but not showing it?

Just then, a buzzing filled the room. Everyone looked around to see where it was coming from. Everyone but Professor Snape and Ron. They were looking at Dumbledore in a weird way, almost as if they were looking through him.

The others seemed to notice this after a few seconds.

"Ron? Are you all right?"

"Severus?" Dumbledore looked at Snape with curiosity.

A minute passed before both Snape and Ron came out of their trance. Ron shook his head slightly and Snape closed his eyes and rubbed them.

"Severus? Mr. Weasley?" Dumbledore looked from Snape to Ron.

Snape opened his eyes and Ron stopped shaking his head. They gave a quick glance to each other.

"It's really stuffy in here," Ron said, sounding a bit scared.

"Right," Snape agreed uncharacteristically.

Every one in the room was either looking at Ron or Snape, not knowing what to think. Dumbledore was looking Snape over, trying to find out what he was thinking.

"Yes, well.. About Mr. Longbottom, please stop worrying. He's safe and sound with his grandmother," Dumbledore said, never taking his eyes of Snape.

Ron shifted uneasily in his chair. "Erm, sir? Can we go now?"

"I suppose that's fine," Dumbledore said, now staring at Ron.

Snape and Ron got up at the same time, and then Harry, Hermione, and Ginny got up, not being able to take their eyes off them both. Though, Luna was looking at the paintings, not seeing the big fuss over Snape & Ron.

They left the room, Snape going one way and the students the other. About five steps down the next hall, where he knew Professor Dumbledore couldn't see him, Ron stopped.

"I've got to go somewhere, I'll see you in the common room," Ron told them, turning to leave.

Ginny grabbed his arm to stop him. "What just happened back there?"

"Nothing," Ron said, getting his arm free. "I'll see you later."

Ron walked quickly down the hall towards the main entrance of the castle. He was off to find that Ravenclaw boy.

And in the dungeons, Snape worked, reluctantly, on a way to get Neville Longbottom out of 1974 before he slipped further into the past.

* * *

**A/N:** In the next chapter, we take a very tiny look into Snape's past. It's just a small event, but it had much meaning to our great Potions master. Also, our new Ravenclaw gets the info on what happened, and _"Team Merlin"_ learns that there could be more meaning in this whole thing that any of them expected. 


	7. B, Rocks

**A/N:** This chapter is set in the presant time.

_**Turning Your Time Around**_

_**Chapter 7: "Controling it All"**_

"Hey! Wait!" Ron yelled out to the Ravenclaw boy.

The brown-haired Ravenclaw was walking down towards Hagrid's hut. He stopped and turned around when he heard Ron yelling for him. Ron slowed his pace a little, and then halted before the boy.

"Hey," Ron panted. He had run all the way here. "Sorry about acting weird back there. I'm Ron Weasley."

Ron held out his hand to shake. The boy did so after a moment of thought.

When the Ravenclaw didn't speak, Ron asked him "What's your name?"

"Kimpson," The Ravenclaw said in a reluctant voice.

"You seemed to be in a bit of trouble back there with Snape. What happened?" Ron asked.

The boy frowned when he heard the name "Snape". He walked over to a close by tree and sat down. Ron followed.

"I don't know what's going on," Kimpson said, looking at the ground.

Ron sat down beside him, then said slowly "I think I do."

"I doubt it," Kimpson replied, still frowning.

Ron hesitated before saying something else. He wasn't sure how he'd react to his explanation.

"You're not where you used to be. You're um, in the future." Ron held his breath for the reply.

Kimpson straightened, and widened his eyes.

"_I'm what_?" He asked in a shaky voice.

"Don't worry, we're, um, working on getting you back to your time," Ron told him, hoping to brighten the boy.

"Then that _was_ Snape, wasn't it?" Kimpson asked. He was still looking at the ground before him.

"Uh, well, yes it was."

"Why'd this happen?" Kimson asked, glancing up at Ron.

Ron gave a quiet huff and replied "Malfoy."

Kimpson's eyes were wide again, as if he'd figured it all out. "That's right," he breathed, turning his head to see the castle.

"You know?" Ron asked in an amased voice.

"Lucius will pay for this one."

Kimpson's face became red with anger.

"_Lucius_ Malfoy did this to you?" Ron asked in surprise.

Kimpson nodded lightly.

"He threw a spelled Time Turner at me. Heh, glad I hit him with that jinx when I did."

"You jinxed him?" Ron kept his eye on Kimpson, waiting for a reply.

After a moment, Kimpson gave him one, but he seemed to be getting angrier with every sentence.

"Told me I was a useless Mudblood. I pulled out my wand and sent the jinx right at him. All his hair fell out. Then he threw the thing at me and I ended up in the dungeons."

"You made his hair fall out! Oh I wish I could have seen that," Ron said with a grin.

"It was a great thing to see.. So, anyway, I ended up in the dungeons. I went to find Professor Stole, but I found Snape. Then I ran into you and those others." Kimpson paused for a moment then asked, "How'd you know I was from the past?"

Ron looked to the ground, remembering Merlin's words of not talking to anyone but Snape about him.

"Can't say, sorry," Ron replied simply, though he felt bad that he couldn't tell him the whole story.

But, Kimpson raised his hand and said, "Don't be. I'm sure you've got a good reason. I know that there's times we have to stay loyal to others. Been there, done that."

"Thanks."

Kimpson nodded once and turned back to look at the castle.

"So, who's helping me get back, other than you? Is it your friend who said hello to me in the castle?" Kimpson asked.

"No!" Ron yelped. "And you can't mention this to anyone of them in the hall, or anyone else. Okay?"

"Alright. Don't have a real reason to anyway. Then who _is_ helping you?"

Ron stood up, reluctantly. He didn't want to go see Snape again, but he knew he'd have to some time. "Come on, I'll take you to him."

Ron held down a hand, and Kimpson took it. They made their way back down to the dungeons, careful not to get seen by anyone.

-

Professor Severus Snape heard a knock at the door, and closed the book he'd been reading on time travel.

He opened the door slowly and found Ron and Kimpson standing before him.

"What?" Snape asked, annoyed he'd been interrupted.

"Professor, this is Kimpson. He's the Ravenclaw," Ron said in a nervous voice.

"I know who he is," Snape replied darkly.

Kimpson tried to stay still so that his fear could not be shown. Snape was much bigger than him now, and he'd be more dangerous than before as a student.

"Get in here, both of you," Snape ordered them.

He closed the door after they entered and sat back down at his desk.

"Professor, it was a Time Turner that sent him here. Lucius Malfoy threw it at him, just like Draco must have done to Neville," Ron told him quickly.

Snape looked down at the book again, thinking.

"Most likely _not_ a coincidence," Snape replied.

Ron agreed, while Kimpson just stood still and stared. He couldn't keep thinking how weird this was, looking at the grown-up Snape.

Snape glanced up at them, and Kimpson looked away.

"Mr. Weasley, go back to your dormitory. And you," Snape looked at Kimpson, "go down the hall and enter the third door on the left side. There's a room for you to stay. Don't tell anyone about it, you hear me?"

Kimpson didn't really liked being ordered around by Snape, but he nodded anyway. He refused to speak to Snape unless forced to. To him, Snape wasn't much better than Lucius Malfoy, and that was only because he hadn't called him a Mudblood.. not yet anyway.

Ron led the way out of the room and Kimson followed, taking one last look at Snape, who was now reading his book again. He closed the door and headed down the hall, saying goodbye to Ron.

Back in his office, Snape continued reading. Though, every few moments, he kept thinking of what Merlin had accused the headmaster of. Stealing power? How could a wizard that kind do something like that?

He decided to read a different book - one about magic control. He stood up and walked to the tall bookshelf on the other side of the room. He found what he was looking for.  
He opened to the first page.

_**Great Wizard Power: Controlling it All**_

**PART I  
Pages: 5 - 10, Emotional Control**

**Pages: 11 - 16, Physical Control**

**Pages: 17 - 33, Long-Term Effects **

**PART II  
Pages: 35 - 46, Holding Onto Power**

**Pages: 47 - 53, Hiding Your Power**

**Pages: 54 - 65, Doing Everything at Once**

Snape found page 47 and read:

_When trying to hide power, you must stay focused at all times. The thing you must focus on is not thinking about the power you have. If you let that slip for too long, the power you hold is sure to show itself. Should you slip, your magic can be revealed to anyone close. _

_It is crucial that you keep aware of your surroundings, so you know what to suspect to happen. The most likely thing to happen is that a fire will either appear or one burning will go out. This might not give you away, but most muggles tend to get frightened with something like this. _

Severus looked up, thinking about the times he had to resort to hiding his magic from muggles.

(( Over summer breaks from Hogwarts, he returned to his home, but didn't spend much time around there. To keep himself busy, he'd go to a park three streets down and read. The only thing he'd hated about the place is that some muggle children would come down and play games and have fun.

He'd usually get bugged by a kid to join in a game.

Once (when he was 16), he got so annoyed that, without meaning to, he'd made a rock leap from the ground and hit the small child. Then another, and another. But, he couldn't stop them from flying at the boy. After about fifteen rocks had hit him, the boy was huddled on the ground crying. Severus grabbed his book and fled back to his house, not wanting anything else to happen. When he got home, he avoided his father and ran to his room. He put the book on the floor and took out his wand. He set the book on fire and watched until it was only ashes. He never went back to that park after that. Nor, did he ever read **_Gorlepsin's Guide to Werewolves_** again.))

Severus Snape slammed the book shut which caused a glass bird to shatter, sending bits of it flying everywhere. The anger in him was flaring at remembering that little bit of his childhood. He fled from his office at once without looking back.

Even though she was quite used to his outbursts, the miniture statue of a panther, which was on a shelf, sprang to life and followed him quickly with a slight twinge of fear.

-...-

**A/N#2:** What did you think? Did Kimpson seem too... cooperative? Let me just say that it runs in the family.  
New in this chapter: Kimpson, the panther statue.


	8. A, A Piece of History

**A/N**: This chapter is in 1974, where Neville is. This is James, Sirius, Remus, Lily, Severus, and Peter's fourth year, and Alice's in my fic 7th year in Hogwarts. It's also Frank's 7th year, but he's not at Hogwarts.

_**Turning Your Time Around**_

_**Chapter 8: "A Piece of History"**_

**Lily woke Neville up from his first meeting with Merlin & Ron & Snape.**

Neville raised his head to see a girl sitting on his bed.

"Lily?"

The girl smiled and said, "That's my name, don't ware it out. Are you feeling better?"

As Neville tried to sit up, a pain shot through his back that made him groan and plop back down again.

Lily sighed and held out her hand to him.  
"You need to get up, Neville."

"Why?" He asked with a touch of anger.

"Because if you don't get up, your back will get stiff and you won't be able to move at all. Madam Pomfrey is going to make you anyway, so you mind as well do it without her fussing."

Neville gave another tiny groan, which made him sound like a little child, and took Lily's hand. She helped him sit up, slowly. Little shots of pain went up his back and shoulder. It was as if his spine was being chipped apart bit by bit.

Lily got off the bed and helped him to his feet. Neville straightened up and heard his back crack loudly.

"Well, that didn't sound too good," Neville stated through clenched teeth, trying hard not to whimper or cry.

Lily gave him a sympathetic look and said, "Are you up for walking?"

Neville, still trying to hide how he was feeling, gasped out "I guess."

"Come on."

He followed Lily out of the hospital wing and to a flight of stairs going up. Neville turned slightly to her and saw that she was waiting for him to go first.

"Where are we going?" Neville asked her.

"We're going to try and cheer you up," she replied happily.

"I don't need cheering up, really."

Neville eyed the many stairs and tried to convince Lily that there was no need to go up them. The last thing he wanted was to go up stairs. But, he finally gave in and took the first few steps.

By the time they got up to the top, he was aching in more places. To top it all off, he was getting a headache. The headache eased a bit when he imagined Malfoy fighting for his life from attacking owls. That probably wasn't going to ever happen, but one can dream.

Lily led him down a brightly lit, dead-ended hall and stopped when she reached the only door. All they did for a moment was stand there, and Neville was beginning to wonder if this was what was supposed to 'cheer him up'. But, as Neville took a closer look at the door in front of them, he noticed that there were things popping out of it.

"Are those.." Neville gulped, ".._hands?_"

"Um, yes. But, don't get frightened Neville, they're just carvings," Lily replied in a soothing voice.

"R-right. Jus-just carvings. Okay."

_'Don't get frightened', yeah right. What am I supposed to be!_

A minute passed by in silence and all Neville could do was stand and stare at the supposed "_carvings_" of hands on the door. Lily cleared her throat loudly, trying to get his attention. Neville turned slightly to see her, but when he looked at Lily, he saw that she was turning something over in her hands. It seemed to be a small coin she was playing with.

"What's that?" Neville asked her, trying to keep his mind off the things on the door.

"I'll tell you later," Lily replied with a serious look on her face.

Neville, a little taken aback by her response did not press the question. He did, however, ask another.

"Where are we?"

Lily gave a small sigh and turned to face him. "I'm going to show you something and you have to promise not to tell anyone about this room - will you do that, can I trust you?"

"Always." was Neville's simple reply, though there was no doubt that he meant it.

Lily turned back to the door and knocked exactly seven times and then paused and said softly:

"T-R-A-I-T-O-R."

The door swung open with a sharp _squeak_ to reveal a dimly lit Gryffindor-common-room-sized space. The only window that could be seen was a tiny, square-shaped one on the wall straight ahead. Neville looked around at the cluttered space in awe. It seemed as if no one had been here in centuries. Ten sheets of dust covered everything. Lily nudged Neville and they both walked in. Now, even more could be seen. There were books stacked from floor to ceiling, and five brown chairs were off to the left. There were no paintings, rugs, or color apart from Lily's hair shining bright in the light from the hall. There wasn't even that when, just then, Lily closed the door which gave another _squeak_.

Lily waited for him to say something, but when he didn't, she asked, "What do you think?"

Neville spoke with a shaky voice which made him sound like Ron when he saw a spider. "It-it's.. uh, very.. creepy actually."

Neville tried to find something good about the room, but there didn't seem to anything in the whole place that made him think of "nice" or "bloody brilliant" (as Ron would say), and that wasn't including the wood hands on the door.

"It's called the Toss Room," Lily told him.

"Why's it called the Toss Room?" Neville asked her, though he could barely see where she was in the dark room.

"Because, back years and years ago, when wizards and witches were preparing to fight, they'd come in here and 'toss around' plans of action. All very strange, I know, but isn't it amazing? People who used to be in this school actually came in here and it's been undisturbed for years. It's a piece of history!"

_Heh, maybe it should have been you who went back in time - not me! You'd certainly enjoy it more than I am._

Lily seemed so fascinated in the room, she almost forgot Neville was standing there. But, when she heard Neville's tiny laugh she turned to him.

"What? Is this funny to you?" Lily asked in a defensive tone.

"No!" Neville replied quickly. "It's just something I thought of, really! This place is very.. interesting. I wasn't laughing at you."

"Okay." was all Lily said, or, at least, that's all Neville heard before a strange tingling overcame his whole body.

Without even realizing what he was doing, Neville walked over to one of the chairs and sat down in it. The tingling was more like a vibration now, and Neville's headache was getting worse every second. Neville tried to sit up, but it was as if he was glued to the dirty chair. He opened his mouth to speak, but the voice that came out of it was not like his own. It was a low, dangerous growling that seemed even more threatening than Professor Snape's.

"Down a gravely path..." Neville spoke and then paused. He scanned the room, and his eyes came to rest on Lily. The only thing that was shown in Neville's eyes was hatred, but not for Lily.. for someone else.

"Past the Broken Wall of Blodwyn..." he continued in the dark voice. "Through the iron gates..."

"Neville?" Lily asked cautiously. "What's wrong?"

She started to move over to him, but Neville's hand shot up to stop her in her tracks.

All of a sudden, Neville's body went limp in the chair and he laid back his head and closed his eyes.

"Neville!" Lily ran up to him and placed a hand on the shoulder that wasn't hurt and shook him gently. Nothing happened. She shook him a little harder. When he did not respond, she gave his hurt shoulder a hard poke. Lily let out a breath of relief when Neville gave a soft groan. "Neville, can you hear me?"

Neville gave a short "Yes." but nothing more. He didn't even open his eyes. For a moment, Lily thought he was asleep, but just then he started to mumble things that made no sense.

"Animals... rain... too fast... purple... hands...punishment..."

Lily poked him again in the same spot. Again he gave a groan, but that was it.

"Neville, please wake up," Lily pleaded. "What in the name of Merlin is going on!" she added under her breath.

Neville cringed, just like when "Voldemort" is said, when Lily spoke the name "Merlin". Neville started to breath faster, just as if he were running. But, in an instant, he stopped and straightened. His eyes fluttered open and he could see Lily in front of him.

_Oh geez, oh geez...Breath.. Breath you idiot Neville!_

One big breath, and then another came from Neville and he slowly relaxed a bit. Without saying a word, he pushed Lily away gently and stood up. His back was hurting more now, but he just ignored the pain. Looking around the room, Neville pulled out his wand. He pointed it at the window and said: "**_Newpondera_**."

Bright, white light engulfed the entire room, and both Neville and Lily shielded their eyes from it. When the light was gone, the Toss Room was totally different, accept for the window. The five chairs had turned to dark red, green, blue, purple, and one gray. The books were on bookshelves, and the dust was gone. The walls were light blue, and on each one there was a painting of a sun setting in different parts of the world.

"Wow," Lily breathed, looking at the new surroundings. "What did you just do?"

Neville, who also was taking in the change, didn't answer. All he could do was hold up his wand hand and look at his wand in disbelief, as if he'd never done a spell in his life.

"I-I... I don't know..I gotta get out of here." Neville said in a frightened voice.

Neville glanced around once more and then dropped his wand from his hand and ran to the door. As he opened the door, he took one last look at Lily who was staring at him and ran out.

For a few moments, Lily just stood there, not moving the slightest bit. But soon the silence got to her and she picked up Neville's wand from the floor and left, muttering "T-R-I-A-T-O-R" to lock the door.

**A/N#2**: What did you think of that? We're getting closer and closer to Neville's little personality change. Oh, did I say that? Oops...


	9. A, Deception

**A/N**: This chapter is in 1974, where Neville is. This is James, Sirius, Remus, Lily, Severus, and Peter's fourth year, and Alice's (in my fic) 7th year in Hogwarts. It's also Frank's 7th year, but he's not at Hogwarts.

**-**Also, my friend has helped me come up with the new character in this chapter. A big thanks to Jess. Let me know what you think of him.

**DarkLordLongbottom:** Thank you for reviewing twice! I'm glad there are people reading my story. We'll find out what the room REALLY is and what happened to our dear Nev in a later chapter. But, don't worry, I've given something new for you to think about in this chapter. This chapter is dedicated to you for being the first to review twice. Thanks again!

_**Turning Your Time Around**_

**Chapter 9: "Deception"**

-

Neville rounded the corner to the stairs and, ignoring his aching body, ran down them and into the hospital wing. He walked quickly over to his back and climbed in.

_This is too confusing. Why in the world am **I** the one who has to be here! Heh, maybe I'm here to "prove my worth" or something. Oh yes, that's it. I've been wishing for a little adventure, and now I've got it. Stupid, Neville! I've got to stop thinking my life is dull._

His thoughts changed just then, and fear raced through Neville's mind.

_I hope Gran's okay. I wonder if she knows I'm gone. I wonder if **anyone** knows I'm gone. Ron does.. but so does Professor Snape. He's just the person I wanted to help me, heh. Yea, right.. At least I don't have to be in his sodding Potions class anymore. _

Just then, Lily came walking into the hospital wing, looking around for him.

"Neville, what happened?" Lily asked as she found him and sat down on his bed.

"I told you - I don't know. What..." Neville paused. "What did I do?"

Lily looked down at the bed coverings, trying to avoid his eyes. This was not a question that she wanted to answer.

"Lily?" Neville prodded, seeing how she was deliberately not looking at him.

Lily glanced up for a moment and then back down again.

"You were acting really strange," Lily spoke barely over a whisper. When Neville didn't say anything, she continued. "You sat down in a chair and you started talking about a gate and road or something in this eerie voice. Then you just went limp." Lily paused again and then told the last of it. "I tried to wake you up, but you kept mumbling. And then you just got up, said a spell and the whole place was different."

Lily looked up to find Neville staring into space like he was far, far away. He seemed to be thinking about a lot of different things because his face changed several times to show fear, happiness, anger and then contentment. He looked up and met Lily's eyes.

"What do you think of me?" Neville asked her, still seeming kind of far-away in his mind.

Lily stared at him for a moment. She was _not_ expecting him to ask that. She cleared her throat and replied kindly, "You a friendly person. You seem a little shy, but sometimes you're just the opposite. You're definitely someone I trust. Does that answer what you wanted to know?"

Neville nodded, but there was something there that betrayed his response "Yes.". It seemed as if he was expecting her to say exactly what she did.

Lily did not have time to ask him about it because at that moment, she looked up at the clock.

"I'm late!" Lily exclaimed, jumping up from the bed. "I'm sorry, Neville. I have to go, but I'll be back when classes are done, okay?" Lily asked quickly.

"Okay, see you later."

Neville's glum reply made her want to stay so badly, but if she didn't leave for Potions now, she'd never make it before the professor got there. Her Potions professor always came in 11 minutes late to every class. Never 10, and never 12 minutes late, exactly 11 every class. That was one of the great mysteries of the school that everyone talked about.

"Bye," Lily said as she left the hospital wing.

"Bye," Neville replied even though she was long gone. He sighed and looked across the wing out a window. The wind was rattling the windows lightly, and the trees were swaying at the force of it.

A strange feeling overcame him as he thought that if he could just stop and live in this moment forever, he'd be happy. No one would miss him.

_I could just stay here._

Neville shook his head lightly and vowed to himself never to think that again. Right at that moment, a voice broke into his thoughts and he jerked his head upward at the call of his name. He looked around the hospital wing, but he found no one.

"Over here," the voice said, somewhere over from the right.

Neville swung his legs over the edge of the bed and stood up slowly. His back was still aching along with his shoulder. He turned to the painting of a woman smiling at him behind a desk. She was writing in the little book that she had wrote his name down in when she first met him.

"Hello Esor," Neville said with a smile, his mood changing drastically at seeing her. The thought _I've got a friend here_ fluttered through his mind. He didn't seem to think of Lily as a friend yet, just someone who pitied him. That wasn't the slightest bit true, but Neville just couldn't help feeling that way.

"How are you?" Esor asked him, returning the smile.

"I'm all right. You?" Neville replied.

"I'm doing very well, thank you. I noticed you were all alone in here and I thought you might want to talk."

Neville glanced off to the side. "Well, I really don't thinkWhat the hell?"

Neville had just cought a glimpse of himself in a mirror, but what he saw was NOT him. His hair was darker brown and slightly longer. His face was slightly less-round, and he seemed taller. Neville stomped over to the mirror to see a bit better.

"What's the matter?" Esor asked him in a concerned tone. She couldn't see what was so wrong with looking in a mirror.

"Nothing," Neville replied absently, turning back to Esor's painting with a scowl. He resembled Snape slightly with the expression on his face. That was truly frightening him, so he let a smile cross his face.

_I've got to ask Merlin about this, ASAP._

"We were going to talk. What do you want to talk about?" Neville asked her with the same fake smile.

Esor eyed him warily, but did not ask about his little outburst. She replied, "What do you like to do in your spare time, Neville?"

"Not much I really do besides read about plants. I love plants." Neville replied, adding "And Herbology." as a after thought

"Oh? That's nice. Do you grow any plants?" Esor asked him. It was becoming more and more difficult to talk to him, knowing what she knew. But, she had no choice but to go along with it if she wanted Neville to live. She glanced of to the side and then back to Neville in front of her.

"I used to, back home." Neville's glum voice was back, and all he wanted to do was tell Esor about how he was sent back in time. The secrecy was starting to grade away his happy thoughts.

"Back home?" Esor inquired, her voice a bit shaky as every move she made was being scrutinized by the man to her left, that Neville could not see. The fear and worry was starting to ware her down and she felt as if she was going to tell Neville everything in the next moment. But, Neville's voice soothed her thoughts and she remained slightly calm.

"I'm not from around here," Neville said.

The man cleared their throat next to Esor and she glanced over at him again. She took the hint and prodded with her quaky voice.

"Where are you from?"

"I-I.." Neville stuttered, but then took a calming breath and said "I'm from the future."

_Surely it won't matter if I tell a painting. No, person.. She's a **person**, not just a **painting**._

"You're _what_?" Esor asked, trying her best to sound surprised at the news. She put her quill down on the desk and looked at him intently.

"I got sent back in time by someone who hates me," Neville told her in a flat tone.

"How-" Esor began to ask but stopped when she saw Madam Pomfrey walk in.

Madam Pomfrey walked up to Neville, who had turned around to see what Esor was looking at. She looked him over and noted that he was slightly bent forward, probably because it hurt to stand straight.

"How are you feeling, Mr...?" Madam Pomfrey waited for Neville to tell her his last name.

"Erm.." Neville was thinking fast - _what do I say? _He looked around the room for some help. He couldn't say Longbottom because that was his father's name and she'd surely remember it. The same with his mother's last name. A name popped into his head and he blurted it out. "Raymond. Neville Raymond."

Madam Pomfrey frowned in seeing that it took him so long to remember his own name.

"How's your head?" she inquired, sounding like she thought him crazy.

"It's fine," Neville replied shortly.

_Now she thinks I'm a nutter. Great. That's just what I needed._

She didn't comment on his tone, but she took his unhurt arm and guided him back to his bed. He got under the coverings and laid his head back on the pillows.

"Now you rest, and don't you even think about leaving here again," Madam Pomfrey said sternly to him. At his puzzled look, she added, "I saw you run out of here earlier. Now rest."

The commanding tone let him know that he'd be a fool not to obey with her wishes. She left him laying there and walked back out of the hospital wing.

Esor began to sing again, and Neville drifted off into a restful sleep.

-  
-  
-

After ten minutes, when she knew Neville was asleep, she stopped her singing and waited, fearful, for the man to speak. After a few moments, his voice rang in her ears and it made her shiver at it's coldness.

"He trusts you."

She didn't move a muscle, nor did she breath as the fear for her life filled her. (She might be a painting, but that doesn't mean that she can't feel things.) His voice came again.

"Keep talking to him. He'll tell you everything before long."

His voice rattled her, and she shuddered.

"Remember what I told you," the man spoke again with pleasure, "No ruining the little one's life."

He disappeared and she held her head in her hands. She then sobbed as if she had just seen her whole family die before her. Her body shacked as the tears fell from her eyes. She pressed her head harder into her hands, trying desperately to stop them, but it did not help. She just cried harder and harder.

Nothing is worse than the crying.

_  
_**A/N#2**: So, is Esor good or bad? What do you think? Thanks for reading.


	10. A, The Betrayer's Gaze

**A/N**: This chapter is in 1974, where Neville is. This is James, Sirius, Remus, Lily, Severus, and Peter's fourth year, and Alice's (in my fic) 7th year in Hogwarts. It's also Frank's 7th year, but he's not at Hogwarts.

**Also-** The person Esor talked to is not the same person as Neville talks to in this chapter.

I do not own the Harry Potter characters I didn't make up, they are J. K. Rowling's. There is a quote from _Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix _in this chapter. It can be found in chapter: # 37.

**DarkLordLongbottom: **Thanks bunches for another review! You're correct, Esor is a lot like our dear Wormtail. But, there is something different between the two... brains. And yes, James & the rest will be in this story. They all are very very very very important to the end of the war, no matter if they are dead or living in the presant time.

_**Turning Your Time Around**_

This chapter is dedicated to: Anyone who has done a time-travel fic.

_**Chapter 10: "The Betrayer's Gaze"**_

_**-**_

_"The odd thing is Harry, that it may not have meant you at all. Sybil's prophecy could have applied to two wizard, born at the end on July that year, both of whom had parents in the Order of the Phoenix, both sets of parents having narrowly escaped Voldemort three times. One, of course was you. The other was Neville Longbottom." _

_Dumbledore's voice rang out in his dreams. Though, as Neville looked around, it wasn't really a dream. _

_'Oh come on. Why can't I ever have peace in my dreams?' Neville thought. _

_He saw Dumbledore and Harry through the crystal ball, talking about the prophecy. The same prophecy, in fact, that Neville broke in the Department of Mysteries. _

_'Stupid, Neville.'_

_He walked around the Divination class room that he was stuck in for the time being. He knew he couldn't leave until the dream told him too. He knew this because over the summer, he'd have the same kind of dream- ever since the battle at the Ministry. It always seemed to stop before Dumbledore could Finnish his talk with Harry, so he never heard his name in the prophecy. Well, until he talked to Professor Trelawney. _

_That had been his last day in his own time. That had been the last time he'd seen his "friends", apart from Ron. All the professors were probably wondering where he was. That, of course, left out his least favorite professor, Snape. _

_'I wonder if Snape told Dumbledore,' Neville thought. 'Oh.. right.'_

_He had just remembered what Merlin told them: Dumbledore is bad. Neville, himself, didn't really want to believe that. But, who would be the most trustworthy? Certainly not Dumbledore, the way he keeps everything secret until the "right" moment. _

_But... how well does anyone know Merlin? An unfortunate person came to mind. That person had told him that Merlin was the one who was acting against them._

_The unfortunate person had been the one who had taken over his body, spoke through him, cursed, and chased him earlier. Why believe him? _

_'Everyone is contradicting each other! Who am I supposed to believe!' _

_Neville found only one way to let his frustrations out: He kicked the round table with the crystal ball on it. It rolled off and hit the floor with a **thud**. Neville clenched his fists and stood there, fuming._

_"So," said a voice from behind him, "you could have been the great hero."_

_Neville heard the man's voice, but he didn't turn around, nor did his mood change. _

_"That must make you angry. You'd want to live up to your parents, no doubt."_

_The 24-year-old man's voice rang in Neville's ears, desperate to make him brake down and cry. The words did nothing of the sort. _

_As soon as the last sentence had come out, Neville bent down and grabbed the crystal ball. He spun around and threw it directly at the man with full force. _

_The man tried to move away, but the ball collided with his arm and the young man yelped in pain. _

_The man put his hand over the hurt arm and drew short breaths. He was trying to control his anger, but to no avail. The man leaped from his spot- straight for Neville. _

_Neville remembered their last talk, so he knew what to expect this time. Neville ducked and ran past the man. He kept running faster and faster towards the Great Hall. He wasn't sure why he was going there, but he figured it was as good a place as any to hide._

_He was in the Entrance Hall when two words stopped him, and he turned around to face the man. _

_"What did you say?" Neville asked, panting. _

_The young man walked up, still holding his hurt arm. He had a look of sincerity on his face as he approached. _

_"I said I'm sorry," the man replied with true remorse. _

_Neville eyed the man warily, but as he studied his face, he found no smirk, sneer, or smile. He believed he was sorry, but that did not change his mood much._

_"What do you want?" Neville asked through clenched teeth, trying desperately not to sound like he wanted to throw more things at him. _

_The man was now only a few feet away from him, and Neville could see his features more clearly. He was tall and his short, dark brown hair was messy and it covered a lot of his face. The eyes though, they looked strangely familiar. They had the same worn-out, tired look that made him seem so much older than twenty-four. It was as if he was back in Potions class, and those eyes were boring into his all over again. The Potion master's eyes had only resembled this man's once before, or at least for Neville, and he could remember the exact day. That day, Malfoy had said something about the wizard hospital and the people inside it- and the special ward for people who'd been spell-damaged and the like. He'd tried to fight them, but Harry had pulled him back with Ron and the Potions Git had found them fighting each other. Sure, he'd gotten told off, but when he'd made the potion of the day, he had seen the Potions Master himself **staring...** at **him**. The two looks were exactly alike, and he'd never forget them. _

_A hand was being waved in his face and he heard someone talking._

_"Hello? Are you still there?" _

_The man voice brung him back to reality and he jerked his head away from the man's gaze, not bearing the thought of his most feared professor. Too many bad memories for him. _

_"Are you okay?" the man asked._

_"Why? Do you care?" Neville asked, his intentions clear that he did not like the man._

_The man drew back his hand and straightened. Without answering his question, the man said, "You can call me Rotiart. I'm sorry I didn't get the chance to tell you before."_

_"Oh you mean in the Toss Room where you took over my body? Or when you got in my mind and threw curses at me?" Neville replied hotly. _

_The man Rotiart sighed, and Neville started to walk away.  
Before he could get too far though, Neville heard the man speak again. _

_"What's wrong?"_

_Neville didn't turn around but answered, "Nothing."_

_The man huffed and walked to face him again. Rotiart looked Neville right in the eye. _

_"There is something wrong, don't you think I can't see it. What is it? Your girlfriend left you? Did you get in a fight? What?"_

_Neville shook his head and looked to the floor, but Rotiart waited patiently. Neville finally spoke, but it was a low whisper that Rotiart could hardly hear. _

_"I don't want to do this."_

_Rotiart gave a puzzled look and asked, "Don't want to do what?"_

_Neville sighed this time and said in the same tone of voice, "I don't want to be the one to help Mer- uh... **him**. I'm no good at this, or anything for that matter. Why does it have to be me? I'll mess everything up no matter what.. I always do."_

_Rotiart shifted his feet when Neville nearly said Merlin's name, but he didn't go anywhere, or throw a curse like he had done in the Toss Room. This time, he put his hand out and steered Neville's chin so that he was looking him in the eyes again. Neville gave a shy, upset look but did not turn away from him. _

_"Listen to me, kid. You're only as good as you let yourself be. And right now, all you're letting yourself be is ashamed. You're ashamed at yourself but you have no reason to be. Think positive, and be happy. All right?"_

_Rotiart's strong, mentoring voice made Neville give a small smile and nod lightly. _

_"Okay."_

_Rotiart nodded also and said, "Good. Now, do you believe me when I say 'I'm sorry'?" He asked with just a touch of pleading in his voice. _

_"Yes," Neville said softly._

_"Good," Rotiart repeated._

_They started walking down a hall, not saying a word. It was the first bit of peace since he'd gone back in time. Before, he'd have way too much free time, alone and bored. But, now, he just couldn't get enough of it. _

_Neville wanted to thank Rotiart for giving him that and a break from his crazy Merlin-dreams. Though, he thought it would be best if he apologized for hitting him in the arm. _

_But, when he turned back around, no one was there. And now he could feel himself waking up from the great contentment-filled state of mind. _

_Neville sighed because he knew exactly who'd be there, yelling at him to wake up._

_'Oh well, at least it was nice for a little while,' Neville thought. _

_-_

Lily Evans came walking into the Hospital Wing right after Care of Magical Creatures, and when she got there, she found Neville sleeping with a slight smile on his face.

Lily sat softly down at his bedside and watched him for a few moments. Then, she very gently shook him to wake up.

"Neville," Lily said softly.

The smile faded off his face immediately and he gave a sigh. He muttered, "At least she was gone for a little while."

Lily withdrew her hand from shaking him and frowned. Was she really bothering him? Unsure, she dared to shake him again. This time though, pushed her hand away and muttered, "Go away, you stupid girl."

That was something he'd never said, and although Neville wasn't aware he'd said it, or wanted to for that matter, she took it seriously.

She got up quickly and walked out of the Wing, a look of total hurt on her face.

_**-**_

**A/N#2:** I know you've been given a lot of info and questions so far in my story, but soon, someone will get mad (in the story) and demand answers. Can you guess who? cough-Snape-cough. That should be fun. And, if there is something you aren't understanding in the story, let me know please.

Also, there will be some action in the story soon, and by the time Neville get's back to the presant, Harry won't be the only one who hates the word "freak". I haven't forgotten about Bella either...


	11. A, The Cause

**A/N**: Okay, there are many things going on in Neville's world right now, and our great Neville's tired himself out! There is a real reason for him being the way he is at the end of the chapter, but I can't tell you yet, that would just give it away! There is deception in the ranks, but who is it! Can you guess? Hummm...

**-Also**, I am letting you know that I do take time in naming each chapter, sometimes for very good reasons, and other times because I want it to be just perfect. Well, there is some info in TWO of the chapter titles that has not been actually stated in any other chapter content. If you read over the titles, you might be able to guess about what's coming and who's been a good girl/boy.

**-And**, The "A", "B", or "C" in front of the chapter tells this:

A past time, 1974.

B Presant time. Ron, Snape, Luna school years.

C Presant time, somewhere other than Hogwarts.

NONE In the Vision Realm or someother mind trance/dream with characters from A & B.

**DarkLordLongbottom:** Thanks for the review, love ta hear questions and comments! Lily does look at Neville as kinda cute and funny, but I'm afraid to go any more into that 'cause it just creeps me out. :) Neville was talking in his sleep, poor guy. He didn't really want to send Lily off, and he didn't know he'd said anything to her because he was sleepin'. But, was it just an accident? I think not... Deception in the ranks, I'm tellin' you! Lots of it! Well, about Neville goin' nutzo on Bella, I'm sad to say it will be the other way around. But, our great Neville won't let her get away once he's back in the presant! Cheer for Neville!

_**Turning Your Time Around**_

**This chapter is dedicated to: DarkLordLongbottom because of the four reviews! Thanks so much!**

**_A - Chapter 11: "The Cause" _**

Neville woke up expecting to find Lily hovering over him, but as he cleared his blurry eyes, he couldn't see her anywhere.

_I could have sworn I'd heard her. Oh well..._

Neville pushed himself up on his elbows and shook his head to wake himself up a little more. His back felt much better and his shoulder was only tingling a tiny bit.

_Maybe I can actually leave here._

Neville swung his feet over the bed and sat up. When no pain came, he stood up. Nothing hurt.

_Great!_

He couldn't believe it. He was actually happy. That was rare these days. But.. hadn't he just had an interactive dream? The dreams were normal for Neville, but the fact that Rotiart was there was something totally new. He wasn't sure how he felt about him invading his dreams. That was what he expected from Merlin, not him.

Rotiart had been the one telling Lily all those things in the Toss Room. It had been Neville's mouth saying it, but not his mind behind the words. No, that was no way him. He remembered the Toss Room and meeting Rotiart. He was meeting a lot of new people these days. He wasn't sure if he liked it or not. Oh well, the more people involved, the more _protected_ he'd be.. at least, in theory.

Neville glanced over at the side table. A glass of water and note were all that was left. He picked up the note and read:

_**Mr. Raymond, **_

_**I'll be gone for the remainder of the day. Please make sure you get up and walk around so that your back does not get stiff. You will not like it stiff.**_

_**-Madam Pomfrey**_

_What?_

Never could he remember Madam Pomfrey just leaving a note and taking off. That was really strange. Though, maybe she had changed a lot between the time here and the time he knew her from before.

_Oh well... Wait, I'm supposed to be doing something.. what was it?_

He heard something rush by the entrance of the Hospital Wing. He whirled around to see the swishing black tail of a dog disappear.

_Was that a dog! This just keeps getting better and better! Geez, Hogwarts sure was crazy in the 70's._

Neville gave a little laugh at that thought.

_Hogwarts is always crazy._

Neville was drawn from his thoughts when he heard his name being called softly.

"Neville, come here!"

The voice may have been soft, but the panic in it seemed to cause the same effect as if it were yelling. Neville jumped and turned around to see the person calling him. But, he realized it was a person in a painting. Esor looked frightened and was pushing things off her table, as if looking for something. She glanced up again and saw she'd gotten Neville's attention.

She stood up from her chair and bent down near the edge of her painting. Even though she was scared, she gave him a small smile.

"How are you?" she asked in her kind voice.

Neville noticed she was shaking slightly, and instead of answering her question, he asked his own.

"What's wrong Esor?"

Esor's shaking increased as she replied, "Wrong? Nothing is wrong, I just wondered if you wanted to talk."

Neville looked her over for a moment. There was no way she was all right, but he'd let it go for now.

"Well, I guess so. What would you like to talk about?" He asked her.

The next sentence she spoke was said rather slow which in tern made Neville raise an eyebrow.

"Why don't you **_toss_** out an idea? As a great man once said, _'The side you chose is the side you stay with.' _all right?"

Neville was looking at her with a quizzical expression.

_What does the phrase "The side you chose is the side you stay with." have anything to do with.. well.. anything? Strange... Wait! She had mentioned "toss around ideas". _

That last thought made him wonder if there was another reason she wanted to talk to him. He had just seen the secret, or supposed to be secret, **Toss** Room and she just _happened_ to mention "tossing around ideas" now? Not a chance. Was she trying to hide something? Or was she warning him? A better question: Why would she do either of those things?

_This place is too confusing! I feel like a professor who has to teach nothing but Slitherins! Well, at least that's really never gonna happen._

"Esor, is everything okay?" Neville asked her with the same expression.

The color drained from Esor's face immediately as he asked that. She was glad he could recognize her clue, but was desperately hoping that the other frightening man hadn't been listening to her. If he had, she was dead, she knew it. Oh well, at least she had warned Neville, even if he had no idea she had, yet.

"Y-yes Neville, I'm fine. Thank you for your concern," Esor replied with a slight smile, totally contradicting how she felt.

With that last sentence, Esor walked from her painting into some other one in the castle.

"Uh.. okay. It was nice talking... about nothing," Neville said to the long-gone Esor.

That was probably the strangest conversation he'd had with her. Maybe she was just weirded out from when he told her he was from the future. No, maybe she just thought him crazy and didn't ever want to see him again. It would make some sense to her shaking. There was "Neville the Nutter" running about, lock your doors, get your wands!

Neville gave a quiet laugh at that thought, but then changed his expression to a frown.

_Maybe I **am** crazy._

A sudden tapping on the window brought him out of his thoughts. As he looked over he saw an odd looking owl waiting for him to come over.

Neville glanced around to see if there was anyone else the owl wanted. Seeing none, he walked over to the window and started to open it. The owl only waited long enough for it to get a leg with a note in, for him to take it. He did, and right after, the bird flew away over towards the valley in the distance.

Neville sighed and looked at the letter in his hands. Should he open it?

_Well, there's no one else around._

Reluctantly, he unrolled the parchment and read it over. As he got further down the page, his eyes grew wide.

_Oh my-_

He didn't even finish that thought as he ran to find a teacher to show it to.

The halls were dead quiet. Nothing was moving, not even the people in the paintings.

_Wait- what in the world?_

Neville stopped right where he was (about seven steps outside the Hospital Wing), and he looked at all the paintings he could see from where he stood. Not any of the people or animals were there. The only thing in the paintings were backgrounds, unmoving. That did not make Neville feel any better. He brought the letter out in front of his face again to read it over to make sure he wasn't dreaming, or dead, for that matter.

_**The first person to read this must send reinforcements to: **_

**_Ollivander's Wand Shop, Diagon Alley_**

_**AS SOON AS POSSIBLE**_

No, he wasn't dreaming, and he wasn't dead -at least he hoped not- so that just left the fact that it was true. So, ignoring the lifeless paintings, he moved onward to find a professor.

He found nothing, and no one. Not one student, and not one professor was walking the halls. This was getting extremely scary the further he went.

With a sigh, he reached the Great Hall. Thankfully, there were murmurs coming from the other side of the huge doors. Not wanting to get caught by anyone who would know him in the future, he had no choice but to open the doors the tinniest bit and slip the letter through.

He pulled out his wand, which had only been used once before, and said in a quiet, but firm tone, "**_Rumpo silentium_!**"

A window-rattling crack rang throughout the castle, down every hall and in every classroom.

The murmurs quieted instantly. Neville froze for a moment, waiting. That had been the loudest he'd ever made that spell work.

Loud footsteps could be heard from inside the Great Hall as someone walked to pick up the note. Neville didn't wait another second. He just ran.

Neville found himself in the Hospital Wing again and he fell in a tired heap onto his bed. He was so sleepy, he could sleep for three days!

_**-**_

And to his great surprise, that is exactly what he did. There was no explaining it, but that's what happened.

He raised his head from the soft pillow and blinked to clear his vision. He could hear a faint voice calling his name. Well, "Neville Raymond" but still calling for him.

The blurry images did not seem to want to clear even though he blinked so much his eyes hurt. There was that person calling him again. He wanted to answer, but his whole body seemed so tired that all it would do is blink, breath, and lay still.

"Mr. Raymond, stop blinking and answer me!"

Neville heard the last sentence clear and loud in his ears, making him push his tired body away from the direction it'd come from. He tried his best to say "stop yelling" but it only came out as a small "_ssssyyyllll_" and then a groan from the big effort.

"He's responding! Bring me the-"

The rest of Madam Pomfrey's words were lost to his mind as he tried to move his arm a little. He only succeeded in causing himself a headache. Someone was slipping a hand under his neck and raising his head to drink something. He didn't want to, plain and simple. His head hurt and he was tired, why don't they just leave him alone!

He groaned again as someone insisted he drink whatever it was. But, this time they didn't pay attention to his protests and just made him drink it.

The potion, he assumed is was a potion anyway, flowed effortlessly through his gritted teeth. It felt like air passing through his mouth and being forced down his throat. That was not happy feeling, he realized. It seemed as if he'd swallowed too much food at once and didn't have anything to drink to fix it.

Slowly it made it's way down his throat, and he gulped and gulped over and over to get it down. But, the pace kept going smoothly and steadily. That just made Neville feel more uneasy.

Sweat drops were on his forehead as he fought to not let the potion down any further in his body. Madam Pomfrey was sitting on his bed and was holding his hand for a little support for the boy. She was much different now than in Harry, Neville and the other's time. She seemed to still care, but had the advantage of more youth now.

Lily Evans sat on the opposite side of the bed and watched with sorrowful eyes. She wondered why she was here when just tree days ago, this boy in the bed had nearly made her cry. She owed him nothing, not a thing. But, he had been asleep, and she had come to the conclusion that he might have been dreaming. Even so, she was going to wait for him to ask where she was before he was forgiven. If he had truly wanted to say what he did, he wouldn't, or shouldn't care where she was now. But, two days had passed and she was starting to believe he had wanted to upset her.

But, she still had to know. After her classes on the second day, she had gone up to the Hospital Wing to sneak a peak at him to see if he was still there. What she found made her eyes go wide. Madam Pomfrey was sitting on a bed and she was crying softly. That was Neville's bed.

She ran to her side as she asked what had happened. Madam Pomfrey said that he wasn't going to make it. Not going to make it? Make it to what? And then she had realized she ment death. Death for this young boy who had upset her. She panicked and asked if there was anything they could do to help him. Madam Pomfrey said there was a way she might be able to save him, but it would take to long. So, Lily offered to help her do whatever had to be done. She was angry with this Gryffindor, but he did not deserve to die!

Together, they made the potion and by that time the next day, they were ready to give it to him. They called and called for him to wake up, even shaking him, but nothing seemed to work. The two of them had almost lost hope until he opened his eyes and started blinking at a rate of five times per second. Madam Pomfrey called for her to get the potion and she did. Neville had drank the required amount and was now gulping and blinking every moment.

Lily watched as Neville blinked at the ceiling and twisted the sheets of the bed in his hands in silent agony. She could hardly stand to see him like that. That face that had been cute and sweet days before was now twisted with fear and pain. He had not spoken a word apart from two small groans, which amazed her. He looked so bad and yet he was keeping from screaming. But, the worst was yet to come, as all three of them soon realized...

**A/N**: Well, what did you think? If everything works out fine, we'll be seeing James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter in the next chapter, allong with Lily o' course! Shortly after, Neville's gonna make a new-old friend. He's been at Hogwarts for a long time, and knew Tom Riddle. Not that he liked him, he just knew him. Think! Who is it? Tell me what you think, please. :) "**11**" is my favorite number, and is the number of this chapter- something important happend in this chapter! Did you catch it?


	12. A, The Fifteenth of November

_**Turning Your Time Around**_

_**By: Cheelalaucha**_

**This chapter is dedicated to: People who stay up until 4am (that's what it is here now) trying to get chapters to a story ready to read. Thanks for them all!**

_**A, Chapter 12: "The Fifteenth of November" **_

**A/N**: This chapter is in 1974, where Neville is. This is James, Sirius, Remus, Lily, Severus, and Peter's fourth year, and Alice's (in my fic) 7th year in Hogwarts. It's also Frank's 7th year, but he's not at Hogwarts.  
-The NEXT chapter will most likely be in the presant time with Ron and Snape and Kimpson.  
-I've had a lot of this chapter done since I posted the first one, can you imagine? No? Okay.

**DarkLordLongbottom: **Ah ha! You were correct! Hagrid Hagrid Hagrid! Ooooh kaaay... Again I say that the chapter titles are important. When Neville met Esor, the title was: "The Writer of the Realm". How many realms do we know of right now? You're thinking right on track- one, the Vision Realm. So, she doesn't just exist in her painting at Hogwarts... kind of a two-way connection between the places. Can you put other things together to get some info on the future? I propose the challenge to you, DarkLord. Are you willing? Let me now go and cackle in the corner while you read.

_**- **_

Lily watched as Neville blinked at the ceiling and twisted the sheets of the bed in his hands in silent agony. She could hardly stand to see him like that. That face that had been cute and sweet days before was now twisted with fear and pain. He had not spoken a word apart from two small groans, which amazed her. He looked so bad and yet he was keeping from screaming. But, the worst was yet to come, as all three of them soon realized...

A spasm ran through Neville's legs, and his whole body shook.

Neville still hadn't said anything. He hadn't even cried. That was a big change from the 'Old Neville' his "friends" had known.

Back home, as Neville often referred to his real time at Hogwarts, he'd be laughed at and unable to fight back because he was too scared. Malfoy, who was always cracking jokes, never knew what it was like being an outsider. But, as his Gran had told him before, there were people like that in everyone's life, and he just needed to deal with it. But, she had said it was all right to give them a little pay back every now and then.

_Yeah right. I can just see **me** cursing Ocard (Draco)... then running off screaming like a girl as he returned it! Wouldn't that be something for the _Prophet

Neville's thoughts melted away as he shook harder, making the coverings wrap around him tightly. He turned his head back and forth, eyes closed. The pounding in his head was growing stronger each passing second, and it was threatening to waver Neville's sanity.

But, Neville was determined not to let it get the better of him. He pried his eyes open and saw blurs in front of him. There were two blobs on his bed, one on each side.

All the sound that reached Neville's ears was a rushing noise. It was like wind blowing in from an open window on the Hogwart's Express. He wanted desperately to stop the sound, but found he could do little but lay there on the bed with swirls of color siting near him.

Then, as if sensing his pain, a voice, sounding as a whisper, reached his ears. All other noise stopped at his voice, and Neville heard the echoing words clearly.

"Stop being frightened Neville, just relax."

Neville saw a third blob next to him, on Lily's side. He tried to calm himself by breathing slowly. That had always helped him before. But that did nothing now but make his head ache more.

Rotiart could see he was getting nowhere in this and so very gently, sitting down on his bed, he placed his hand on Neville's forehead.

Neville stopped shaking instantly, and he started to breath his calming breaths.

"How did..." Madam Pomfrey began, but was at a loss for words to ask the rest.

Rotiart said nothing as he gazed down at Neville with sorrow plain in his eyes. He didn't have long to stay, but he would stay until ten minutes to twelve.

Madam Pomfrey nodded to Lily and motioned for her to get up. She did, and together they headed out of the Hospital Wing, leaving the two alone. Madam Pomfrey guessed he must be a relative, and thought that maybe they'd like some privacy. The man certainly had control of the situation.

_**-**_

Rotiart kept his word, and stayed until ten to twelve, when he had to be back in the Toss Room for four more weeks. He wished Neville'd woken up before he'd had to leave, but he was quiet a motionless the whole time. He sighed and patted Neville's hand softly, much like a father might for his son.

He muttered, "See ya soon, kid. Sleep tight." and got up from the bedside.

He walked slowly out of the Hospital Wing, glancing back only once at Neville, and made his way up the stairs to the Toss Room.

_**-**_

When Neville awoke the next morning, he found himself alone in the Hospital Wing.

_What happened?_

Neville raised his head from his pillow and took a long look at everything around him. All the things he saw were exactly as he didn't expect- normal. Though, in truth, Hogwarts was never normal. That was the fact that worried Neville the most.

Slowly and gently he moved his arms to the sides, as well as his legs, and he got up from his bed with a 'crack' of his back. A strong tingle went through his entire body, from the tips of his toes to the top of his scalp. The strangeness of it all made him shiver and sit down again.

In the back of his mind something was nagging at him. He was supposed to be doing something. But what? He needed to remember, even if it was something silly, he had to know what he was forgetting. But, when nothing was coming to mind, he started to get frustrated. This had been happening his entire life, and he hated it every time. He'd forget that ingredient in Potions. Or, he'd forgotten about feeding Trevor. He'd nearly killed his poor toad one summer when he went to his Uncle Algie's home for a visit. No wonder he lost Trevor on the way to Hogwarts for the first time, he probably figured he had better chances of life far, far away from "Forgetful Neville".

_Damn memory problems!_

Neville stopped breathing for a second. Had he just had a bad thought? Wow, who had he become?

_'Announcing the winner of the Snape-Act-Alike Contest... **NEVILLE LONGBOTTOM**! For hating beyond the call of duty.'_

Neville huffed and got up again from his bed. What would Harry and the rest of the Gryffindors do when they learnt Neville Longbottom had an amusing side? -And not because they found it funny to mock his memory troubles. They'd never get over the shock, he guessed.

Sighing, he walked to the nearest window and peered out. He was surprised to see a smaller-looking Whomping Willow that didn't look half as intimidating without it's high stature. But, it also was bare of it's leaves, so it looked as ugly as it ever had. He made a note in his head -which he hoped he would **NOT** forget- to research the tree in one of his Herbology books. But, he realized, he'd have to wait until he got back to his own time to do that. And then it hit him. That's what he'd forgot! He needed to get back home! To do that, he had to get Lily and James together. But what was he supposed to do? He knew what James looked like from a picture in the attic which held the remnants of Frank's years at Hogwarts. After all, that was all his Gran had to hold on to now. That, and a failure of a grandson.

Neville stepped away from the window and practically ran from the Hospital Wing just as Madam Pomfrey was coming in.

_**-**_

Neville browsed the halls, looking for James. His back was starting to hurt him though, so wasn't going to walk for very much longer. He'd searched two more floors before he spotted him.

"Why does she care about him? He calls her a.. Mudblood.. and she doesn't even smack him! If I were her, I'da cursed his face off. Well, that just shows you that guys are braver than girls."

Neville was standing around the corner, listening to the conversation. He raised his eyebrow with disbelief when he'd heard James' remark. He knew that Hermione was loads braver than a lot of the boys in 6th year, himself included. She had proven her skills in the Department of Mysteries.

Neville peered around the corner to see them. He saw James playing with what looked like a snitch. Standing next to him there were three other boys. Two of them looked familiar to him, but he couldn't quite place them.

He stared at them, trying to remember where he'd seen them. Neville's eye's widened.

_Lupin!_

That had to be Professor Lupin, his 3rd year D.A.D.A. teacher. But, he was clearly younger now then before.

The other familiar one was speaking now, and Neville leaned his ear closer to hear what he was saying.

"If you ever want her to go out with you, you can't keep cursing people."

"It's Snape! Why does it matter what I do to him? He's nasty to everybody, I'm just giving him what he deserves!" James yelled with anger.

"He does deserve it, but everyone deserves a swift kick sometimes. I'm just saying that you can't always curse him. Besides, if you curse him you make Evans mad, and then she doesn't like you. You're letting Snape keep you away from a girl. I'd say he's fighting you with out you noticing."

_That is a good point. Maybe this won't be the toughest thing in the world to do. He lays off Snape, no curses, and then Lily starts to lighten up. Good._

And then he switched to his bad side and thought, _Humm, little Snapey seems to be the one getting picked on. How great is that?_

James looked up at the other boy. He seemed to be thinking about what he'd said. James' expression softened a bit. He'd clearly seen the truth of the other boy's words.

"Fine, no cursing. But, if he calls her that again, and I see it -oh he's gonna be sorry," James said to the other three.

He got up and waved for him to follow as he walked down the hallway.

While he was walking away, Neville saw James turn to the boy who had spoken.

"Thanks Padfoot, mate. You sure got brains."

Padfoot... Padfoot... He knew that nickname, Harry had said it. He had told, no yelled, to Snape: "He's got Padfoot!" and then they went to the Ministry. Someone had died there, he remembered.

Neville's eyes widened again, as something clicked in his head.

_That was Sirius Black! Oh boy.._

Neville took one of his 'calming breaths' to get his nerves under control.

_**-**_

_Okay, what to do next? Uh.. come on, Neville, think!_

There wasn't much to do but wait for Snape to try and get James angry. But, it had to be in front of Lily, and James had to keep his cool. That was probably the hardest thing he'd have to do. But, there was also the question of how could he get them all together in one place. This was going to take lots and lots of thinking.

_I wish Hermoine was here. She could fix everything in a day. I need some help. But, is there anyone I can talk to?_

Neville decided he needed some air. All this problem solving was giving him a headache. He walked out onto the grounds to find a sunny day around him. There were students everywhere. Neville supposed that they were savoring the last few days of the nice weather. The snow was going to fall soon, and not one bit of grass or flowers would be seen outdoors for weeks.

Neville headed toward his favorite spot on the Hogwarts grounds- the back wall of the castle. Not many people would go there because it was plain, and most people didn't even think of walking around the castle. Neville loved it because it was far away from the Forbidden Forest and the lake. He didn't want to see anything that lived in either of those.

When Neville turned the corner to the back side of the castle, he noticed someone else sitting in his spot. Well, it wasn't **_his_** spot, but Neville liked to think of it as his. Their back was turned towards Neville, so he couldn't tell who it was.

For a moment he thought it was a teacher since the person was tall, but he changed his mind when the person turned around to him.

Black hair was covering the edges of the boy's face, but he knew exactly who this must be.

_Hagrid!_

"Hagrid? Is that you?" Neville asked skeptically.

"Who're yeh? How yeh know meh name?" The boy replied.

"Heh, lucky guess," Neville answered, smiling.

Hagrid was the tallest person who walked around Hogwarts. But, even though he was tall in this time too, his cloths were a bit different. Hagrid was wearing an actual black cloak (not the coat he normally would wear in Neville's time). Neville couldn't ever remember ever seeing Hagrid wearing a cloak.

"Who 're yeh?" the young Hagrid asked him.

"Uh, I'm Neville Long- uh, Raymond," Neville told him.

"Well, wha' d' ya wan'?" Hagrid asked in a gruff voice.

Hagrid was also a bit different now with his personality. He didn't seem to be in the happy mood he usually was. Though, this was a different time, and who knows what was happening to him.

"Nothing, really. I just came to sit," Neville replied, looking down.

He was starting to go back to his shy side again.

_Fight it, Neville! You need to be braver!_

With that, Neville slowly pulled his head up so that he could see Hegrid's face again, not his shoes.

"I din't thin' any one else came here." Hagrid said as he got up from the rock he was sitting on.

"Me neither," Neville admitted.

They stood there, staring at the other for about two minutes. Neville shifted his back so that it wouldn't get sore from not moving. The last thing he wanted was his shoulder to hurt more than it already did. Then, Hagrid spoke.

"How'd yeh know meh name?"

"Will you not laugh if I tell you?" Neville asked, nervously.

" 'Course," Hagrid replied, his curiosity taking him over.

"Well.." Neville paused for a moment, thinking about what would happen if he told Hagrid. He decided he needed to tell someone, and Hagrid was always nice to him.

"I know you later in your life.. Erm, I'm sorta from the future.. about twenty-five years, I think."

Neville was just waiting for Hagrid to burst out laughing, and tell him to get his head checked. But, as moments passed, the only thing Hagrid seemed to be doing was thinking about it. He had a serious face now, not just a face full of anger.

The silence dragged on and Neville was starting to get a bit bored. He turned his head to see the valley in the distance. He studied everything he saw. This old valley had many more colors blended into it then the newer one Neville had always looked at.

_I wonder what plants live there. The flowers must be huge of you can see them from here. Maybe it's just a spell to make them look closer. _

Neville jumped back into reality when he heard Hagrid say "How'd yeh get here?"

"Wha-? Oh, uh I'm not sure. I think it was Malfoy," Neville said glumly.

"Lucius?"

"Um, no. Draco Malfoy," Neville replied.

"Righ'." Hagrid said, pretending he understood.

More boring moments passed before Hagrid broke the silence again, trying to get Neville to speak up a bit more.

"So, yeh jus' appeared here?"

"Well, Malfoy shot a spell at me and- no, wait-" Neville stopped talking for a moment while he remembered the last day he was in his own time.

(( He had just come from Treleweny's class... He saw Ron trying to take Malfoy outside the castle... He came walking out to help Ron... Malfoy was just about to curse Ron when Neville stepped in front of him... Malfoy threw something... Ron tried to turn him away, and whatever Malfoy had thrown hit him hard on the back... He felt a jolt and he was slammed into the ground... He opened his eyes to see the sky...))

"He did this to me. Why was I so stupid? I couldn't take Malfoy!" Neville kept yelling at himself, out loud, while Hagrid watched.

Hagrid wasn't sure to think about this new guy. He could be a nutter. He could be dangerous. What should he do? He finally thought it was best to just stand while Neville fought with himself.

"He screwed up my whole _life_." Neville hated Malfoy more than he ever had before.

"Eh, Neville? Maybe we should find a way t' get yeh back," Hagrid proposed.

Neville felt calmer, but he still hated Malfoy. That hate was something that wasn't going to go away. At least, not right now. (A/N: cough, there's a slightly good side to him, cough.)

He knew that he would get back eventually, but he **had** to fix what he'd done. Merlin had explained it to all three of them. But, he wasn't even to be trusted now, or at least if he believed Rotiart. When either Rotiart or Merlin said one thing, then the other contradicted the first person. So confusing, and who should he believe? Merlin was the obvious choice, but there was something about him that just didn't fit. But, Neville wasn't sure what that was, so he could not bring it up. If only he had a way to contact Ron! Geez...

He had to get Lily and James to like each other so that they'd fall in love and get married. Then, Harry would come and Harry would be the Bivorio.

"Yeah, that's a good idea. But, first, we- I have to do something," Neville told the younger, but still tall, Hagrid.

"What do you have to do?" Hagrid asked him.

"Uh, well, I've got to get Potter and Evans together," Neville said in a frustrated voice.

"Why?" Hagrid asked the Gryffindor.

"It's my fault that they aren't together."

Neville sighed and looked down at the ground. Hagrid looked over the other boy.

"Why'z tha' yer fault?" Hagrid asked in a nicer tone than he had before.

Looking, still, upon the grass, he answered "It's always my fault."

Hagrid lowered his head slightly at Neville's reply. This boy was really depressing, and was clearly not a very self-confident person.

But, his thoughts were cut short when he was startled by a squeak from him.

Neville's head had shot upward as there was a buzz in the air around him and Hagrid.

"Wha's tha'?" Hagrid asked, looking around for the source.

"Not again," Neville said to himself with a sigh.

_**-**_

**A/N:**   
**-**In a past chapter Merlin informed Neville that in the Vision Realm, they call the "Boy-Who-Lived" the **Bivorio**. I thought maybe you, the reader, might have forgotten. You did, didn't you? Shame, shame! But, also, does this imply that there are other people in the Vision Realm? Just a thought...

**-**Neville going from his **"funny personality"** to his **"angry persona"** to **"Shy Nev."** will be explained if you were wondering about it being important or not. It is.

**-**Remember, the **buzzing** means a meeting with Merlin. That was from a past chapter with Ron and Snape in Dumbledore's office.

**-**Did anyone blink and not notice that **Rotiart was real**? I mean he wasn't taking over Neville in the Toss Room, and he wasn't in his dreams... he was real. No one? Oh, glad I mentioned it again. It's important!

Are you glad that **James and his friends** showed up? It certainly won't be the last time we see them. After all, they can never lie low for long, being who they are. This is even more true when the time to destroy Voldemort IN THE PRESANT TIME (Harry's 6th year) rolls around. They can't just sit by and watch, can they? Not a chance. "But how?", you ask? You shall see.

Something I want to point out: The reason **why Neville has to get Lily & James together**. Neville was sent back in time, and Kimpson was sent forward. Kimpson was the person who _somehow_ got them together. But, without him there, it will never happen that way. So, Neville has to try to get them together _somehow_. It's still a mystery to me how he'll do it.


	13. C, Frank and Ally, Part 1

**A/N, April 23, 2005:** Once again, "C" means the present time, but somewhere other than Hogwarts. This the first 'C' chapter, and I hope you are extreamly confused by the time you finish reading this chapter.  
-Ohh... We get to see the man who's bothering Esor again! Not so friendly, is he?

-Ah ha! here's a look at the Valley! Finally I get to spring it on you without even a warning! I just love that. Sorry if you're getting mad at me, I hope I'm not toooooo annoying.

**DarkLordLongbottom: **For all but one day out of the month, Rotiart IS only able to be in Nev's head. Terrible curse, it is. Yes, Snape is a meanie, isn't he? But, he does have someone who thinks most highly of him- as you'll see in just a few moments. Snape can't be all bad can he? Heh, that's a question only you know the answer to. :-)  
With that guy breathing down Esor's neck, there's not much she can do to help Nev. She gave him a clue (which also appears in this chapter!) in hopes that he would know he was in danger of one man. If Esor tried to send a warning to anyone, she's dead. Looks like Esor's not having a good painting-life is she? Humm... Oh! By the way, I'm glad I "took moments off my life span" to read _Living in Sorrow_. It was a really good bit of writing, and it gave me some fantastic ideas! Thanks bunches, as always!

nnnnnnnnnn

_**Turning Your Time Around**_

_**By: Cheelalaucha**_

**Dedicated to: All the writers in my 'Favorite Authors' list.**

_**C, Chapter 13: "Frank & Ally I"**_

_**-**_

_Present time._

_**-**_

Vix walked into the library building and searched for the "List Section". There were lists of thousands of things old and new. Lists of Hogwarts' students from years past and present, lists of creatures, lists of books even filled the building. But, there were odd things too. In one part of the List Section, there were lists of strange, rarely thought of things, events and people. For instance, there was a list of all the people in the small valley he was living in. Not only present occupants, but past ones too. There wasn't much use for it, except if they were needing to find out a ghost's identity. Most people who came to this particular valley usually ended up becoming ghosts, so if for some reason they could not remember themselves, there were always **lists**.

That wouldn't do Severus any good, he thought bitterly. He hadn't come back as a ghost. He should have. At least if he was a ghost, he could talk to him again. Now, there was only the lingering of his attitude in Vix's mind. The fact that he hadn't come back as a ghost only proved Vix's theory even more in his mind. He was alive.

Vix found what he was looking for and brought it up to the desk to sign it out. The tiny creature that resembled a human only slightly sat behind the desk, writing in the days events in a journal. There was hardly any of the creature to see because of the fact that his black hair covered everything.

"I'm taking this out," Vix grumbled, not bothering to ask first.

The creature poked what resembled a hand out of his hair and pulled from under the desk a clipboard with places to sign things out. He tapped on the board and a quill appeared on it. Vix took that as the hint to sign his name on it. After he did, the board disappeared into thin air and Vix hurried out of the building muttering, "Hair Goblins." in a nasty tone.

"I heard that." the goblin screeched out as he left.

Vix rolled his eyes and kept walking. He was walking away from the Valley Hall and towards the No-Go River.

Signs were plastered up all around warning people not to go near the river, but of course, Vix would not pay them any mind as he went by. Those signs were there for a reason, as many would tell him, but he didn't want to hear it. He knew this place was dangerous for them because feared death. He, on the other hand, wanted death. He prayed for it in the morning and in the night before he went for punishment. It was amazing he hadn't gone crazy yet, with all the taunting he got from other people. They told him to forget about Severus, and they'd told him he was never coming back, but he would not believe them. He may have been lost to this river, but he was not dead. He couldn't be.

**((Flashback))**

"Hey, Seth, come take a look at this!" Vix yelled for Severus from the boarder of the river.

"You're not supposed to be over here! Get back to camp!" a 16-year-old Severus barked back from the border of the danger zone.

"No! Just come and take a look at what I've found! Come on Seth, please?" Vix's voice came to his ears, but he could not see the boy. If the others found out that he'd left him there, he'd be in deep trouble- even worse then usual.

Severus grumbled to himself about "little trouble-makers" and "stupid little kids" and followed the trail to the river. He spotted the 8-year-old Vix hanging upside-down in a tree right above the rushing water. That stopped Severus right in his tracks.

"Get down from there!" Severus yelled as he looked from the boy to the water, scaring him nearly to death. Only nearly though.

"Just look at the markings on this tree, Seth. Aren't they-"

Vix was cut off from the fact that he was losing his grip on the tree. He screamed for Severus to help him as he held on only by his hands, which were sliding of as he spoke.

Severus rushed from the path just in time to see Vix fall from the highest branch into the raging water. He could hear his screams, but he couldn't see the young boy. Stupid boy! He's going to get himself killed!

Vix went under and started down the river at full mercy of the water. He could hear "Seth", or Severus, calling for him from far away, but he couldn't make out what he was saying. Next thing he knew, there he was in the water, trying to get to him. Vix held on as Seth reached him and made to grab a rock to stop them from flowing down the river. They got lucky and grabbed onto one. Vix had a firm grip on the rock, but Seth was slipping. Vix yelled out for him, but it did nothing. Seth was pushed away from the rock and was taken away by the water. Vix cried for him, but he never came back.

The adults heard Vix's screaming and came running. They saved Vix, but no one knew of what happened to Severus. After a year, he had proclaimed dead by the Valley.

**((End Flashback))**

Severus had died just to save him, the stupid little boy. But, in Vix's mind, he wasn't dead. He would check every bloody list in this stinking valley, no matter what people said.

The List of Hogwarts' Students was next.  
Then, The List of Hogwarts' Teachers would come.

To him, Severus was alive, and even if it took him till the day HE died, he would prove it. He couldn't go without saying thank you. That's the only thing that made Vix human, according to most. But, he would show them.

Boy, would he ever.

_**-**_

_Different place, same time._

_**-**_

"Frank? Frank, come and look at this," Alice yelled for her husband.

"What is it Ally?" Frank's response came from behind her.

She jumped in surprise, she hadn't known he was right there. Alice turned to face him then pointed to the right with a shaky finger. Frank followed with his eyes to see what she was actin so strange about.

Sitting on the grassy ground was a man of about 30 years and short light brown/blonde hair. He had his knees up to his chest and was rocking from side to side, not saying a word. He probably hadn't even realized the other two were there.

Frank's eyes grew wide as he saw the man. No one new had ever come into this place in all the time they'd been there. No one had ever deserved to be here in years. This man must have been a very bad boy to have been brought here. Or... a new thought... Maybe he had been brought here because he'd been very good. No. That wouldn't make any sense at all. This man definitely had to have been a betrayer or something of the sort. But, there was never _anyone_, even betrayers, who had come here in a long, long time. The betrayers would go to the Valley, and then they would "live" there with punishment every day. The punishments had to be great, so why would anyone be interested in dubble, tripple, or quadrupaling it? This must be a very stupid man, Frank thought to himself.

But, not known to Frank nor Alice, this man was a hero. And yet he was here. He shouldn't be there, but he was. Heck, he didn't even deserve to go to the Valley in the first place. He'd been sentenced to that place by... well he couldn't think about _HIM_. He had been put through horrible things as punishment. And even in the end, he'd given his freedom to save the Valley. If he hadn't of gone, than no one would have and the Valley would be no more.

Even though people feared the Valley because of what happened to you there, some people _needed_ to be there for their own good. Some people were just in need of a rude awakening to see the wrongs of their actions. Or, at least, that was what this man had told himself before he'd given his freedom. Now, every clear thought, every spark of happiness he'd stored in him was washed away from his mind as he reached this place. **Now... nothing was worth this**.

"Hello?"

Frank's voice rang out around them in the field of tall grass. The sun beamed down as the man on the grass turned to the person speaking. He slowly rose to his feat.

"Who are you?" the man asked in a tone resembling that of only fear.

Frank took a step forward, eyeing the other man carefully.

"My name is Frank," he told him, and then he glanced at his wife and said, "This is Alice."

He took another step forward. "Who are you?"

The man didn't even hesitate.

"Chapin." He paused for a moment to look around then added, "From the Valley."

Frank nodded, but stopped taking steps forward. If anything, he was now taking steps backwards.

_A man from the Valley. This is just the sort of thing we needed. How am I supposed to react to this? Give him a handshake?_

"Glad to meet you," Frank said in the best 'I wanna be your friend' voice he could muster. Alice, though, still hadn't said anything.

The man, Chapin, didn't respond right away, he just kept still, well, except for his eyes. While the man didn't turn his head, his eyes went from each side of their sockets to the other. As if that wasn't creepy enough for Frank, the man suddenly started talking to himself in a hushed tone, but his lips did not even vibrate from speaking. And yet, every word came out clear and crisp as he... _spoke_ them.

Chills ran down both Frank's and Alice's body as the man spoke louder and more frantically to himself. Or, they thought he was talking to himself until they listened to exactly what he was saying.

"Where. Am. I?"

The pauses between each word did nothing to comfort the both of them, but Frank respond just in hopes of getting him to move.

Frank chose his words carefully, as he thought saying, 'I have no idea where we are, but you seem strange enough to fit in here. Care for a seat at this invisible chair?'

Frank shivered again. The man would probably take that seat in the air without a second thought. Creepy, that was all to describe this man.

But, Frank was spared answering due to the sunny sky darkening with clouds. Now, these weren't normal clouds, for they came out of nowhere and would reach right above you in a matter of seconds of being seen. This time was no different. Lightning cracked around them, and Frank instinctively brought his arms around Alice, holding her tight. She looked at the storm with fierce eyes, but drew in closer to Frank.

They both understood what was going on when an image of a 16-year-old boy came into view before them. He stood still, shaken with fear that shown in his eyes. But, what could be seen of him was more of a hologram with lines streaked across his body. Alice looked at him with longing and love at their son, as did Frank. But, then Frank looked down at her and she knew she had to leave him to do what needed to be done. She didn't have to like it though.

Frank let go of Alice gently, and she walked over to the man Chapin carefully. She spoke some words to him that were barely heard because of the thunder. To Frank's surprise, the man actually moved. Chapin nodded and followed Alice off into the Tall Forest, glancing back once to see the teenage boy. The man's eyes fluttered from the boy to Frank and then turned back around with long blink. Apparently, that was his way of showing some kind of emotion, but which one Frank wasn't sure.

He did not stop to wonder though because he only had so much time to do what he needed. He stared at the boy for a few moments. It seemed as if he was using his willpower to get the boy to listen. He spoke out to him and tried hard not to let his flinching worry him.

"Neville."

The image of him faded for a moment, and when it was back to being semi-clear, the boy was panting.

"NEVILLE," Frank spoke louder.

He saw the boy open his mouth and respond, but could not hear a word of what he was saying, so he just continued on. He didn't know what the boy was seeing, but from the look on his face he could guess it was not good.

"Neville, use your mind. Don't let it control you," Frank told the hologram, hoping with all he was that his son could hear him.

Another flash of lightning came bolting, along with the arrival of someone new. Frank tried to pay him no mind, he knew he needed to concentrate with this to keep it going. But, he had no chance to as the new man waved his hand at the image of the boy and he was gone in an instant. Before Frank could yell, the man spoke in a dark, hard tone behind him.

"This is a wonderful woman you have here. She's very beautiful."

Frank's eyes widened and he turned around to see his wife in the hands of this new man, one hand over her mouth, and one around her waist to keep her from escaping. Frank swore that, had he not seen Alice shake her head, he would have never let that man get another word out of his mouth, ever. He stood his ground, fists tight and heart pounding loudly inside him.

"What do you want?" Frank ground out, wondering how long he'd last watching this man hold Alice.

The man smiled and, taking a small smile said, "I'll get to the point. I want your son, and you're going to help me."

Frank looked from the man's cold eyes to his wife's loving ones and replied,

"Never."

The man laughed and took a glance down at Alice, and smiled even wider. That nearly stopped Frank's heart right there. But, thankfully, he kept breathing and refrained from cutting the man's head off right there.

"I think you might change your mind if I do a little something to your **_beautiful _**wife," the man spoke with a smile and a cruel laugh.

Frank again looked into his wife's eyes and saw that she did not look scared or pleading. She looked angry. That was all Frank needed to tell him that there was no way this guy was getting his son.

"Go to hell," Frank spat back at the man.

The man laughed and said in a higher voice that matched exactly that of his wife's, "The side you chose is the side you stay with." And then added in his own dark voice, "Make sure you chose the right one, or your little missy gets it."

He shook her roughly once to get the message through, and Frank took a step forward, anger getting the best of him at the moment.

"Let her go now or you will regret it," Frank's voice was getting dark too with every passing second.

The man laughed again and he asked in a mock-baby's voice, "Daddy want Mommy? Mommy not doing good unless Daddy gives Baby to Man." He growled, back to his normal tone and let the smile fade from his face. "You will help me get him or _you_ shall be the one regretting it."

This time, Frank smiled at him.

He replied with somewhat calmness, "I do not think so."

The man shook his head back and forth slowly as if he was watching Frank play with matches. "Very foolish you are. Very fo-"

Before the man could finish his sentence, something hit him hard in the back of the head and he fell forward onto the ground. But, after a few seconds of being dazed-looking, he vanished from sight to reveal an extremely angry Chapin behind him, frying pan in hand.

Frank nearly flew to his wife's side and embraced her. She smiled and returned it with every bit of love she had.

"Are you all right?" Frank asked frantically, looking to see if there was even a scratch on her, but not breaking apart from his wife.

She shook her head with a smile and replied, "I'm fine."

Frank returned the smile and turned slightly to see Chapin drop the frying pan on the grassy ground.

"Thank you," Frank said to Chapin, not remembering a time he'd ever ment it more.

Chapin replied, "A very handy kitchen. You have there. Miss." He paused between his sentence, and still did not seem to move his mouth at all.

Chapin shook his head slightly and, as he made his way back to the Tall Forest, he muttered, "I hate that guy."

_**-**_

_**-**_

**A/N:** So, what did you think about this chapter? Did it throw you through a loop and back again? Is your head spinning, ready to pop off? Good, that's what I was going for.

**Where are Frank & Alice?** Well, they are somewhere. I don't think that they are just 'insane' in St.M. I think they're lost somewhere, so that's how I'm writing.

**Will Neville ever... _find_ them?** Only time will tell. Thanks for reading! Do I smell a review? Oh, and I thought this chapter was short, so I might just update tomorrow. Sound good?


	14. C, Frank and Ally, Part 2

**A/N April 27, 2005:** Once again, "C" means the present time, but somewhere other than Hogwarts. This the first 'C' chapter, and I hope you are extremely confused by the time you finish reading this chapter.  
-Ah ha! here's a look at the Valley! Finally I get to spring it on you without even a warning! I just love that. Sorry if you're getting mad at me, I hope I'm not toooooo annoying.

**DarkLordLongbottom: **You will have to see about Chapin & Vix. But, I can say that Vix and Snape are a lot alike. The Valley is somewhere where... oh! I can't say it! Sorry, you'll have to get info bit by bit. Yes, there are a lot of questions, but I thought perhaps it would be better to read about the Valley now instead of learn everything all at once right before... oops! Can't say what. Humm... Well, it should be less boring this way. (Notice I put Vix & the Valley in the same chapter as Nev's parents so that ya might enjoy it more & keep ya reading!). Is it working? Oh, and if you are wondering why Frank & Alice have a house, just think of where they are as an alternate universe type of place, and they're the only ones there. Okay? Okay. Enjoy!

_**-**_

_**Turning Your Time Around**_

_**By: Cheelalaucha**_

**Dedicated to: All the writers in my 'Favorite Stories' list.**

_**C, Chapter 14: "Frank & Ally II"**_

_**-**_

"You know him?" Frank asked Chapin as they made their way to the house.

Chapin didn't reply until they all were inside, and even then it seemed as if he was trying not to let the words come out.

"I. Know. Him." Chapin spoke with pauses, just as he had before, but taking deep breaths in between each word.

Alice noticed his actions and asked, "Are you alright? Would you like something to drink?"

Chapin's eyes turned to her, and without moving his lips he replied, "Yes. I'm fine. Thank-" (here he let out a loud coughing fit) "-Thank you."

Alice glanced at her husband who returned the worried expression. She got up from her seat at the table and went off into the kitchen to get some water.

"So.. Chapin," Frank began after a long silence. "Thanks for, er, hitting that guy. Who was he anyway?"

Chapin looked Frank over for a moment and then replied, "Goes by the name Zudan. Not a friendly. Guy."

"How do you know him?" Frank asked, getting into auror mode.

Chapin gave a forced laugh, but then came more coughing. Alice came in with the water and handed it to him. After a few sips, Chapin set the water aside and said, "He came to the Valley. It didn't turn out well."

"What does he want?" Alice asked while Chapin gulped down some more water.

Chapin's eyes moved to look at her and he replied, "Seems to me. Your kid. Isn't that what. He said?" He directed the question to Frank.

Frank looked over at his wife, then back to Chapin. Without a word, he just nodded.

"Wonderful." Alice sighed and put her head in her hands, looking extremely tired. Her head came back up as she heard Chapin ask a question.

"If ya don't. Mind. Why are you. Here. When your boy. Is our there somewhere?"

Frank and Alice exchanged sad glances, and Alice put her head back in her hands. Since he figured she wasn't up to answering, Frank replied to the question.

"We don't know where he is." Frank looked down at his hands and then continued. "Actually, we have a pretty good idea, but he doesn't know where we are. I don't even know where we are."

"How did you. Get here?" Chapin asked, trying to change the subject. But, it did nothing for the mood of the conversation.

This time, Alice responded through her hands. "One day we were at home with.. our son.. and the next day we're here. I can't really remember much of that day. I suppose people are wondering where we are, myself included."

"Have you tried. Leaving?"

"Of course!" Alice practically yelled. "But there's no where to go! We walk to the boarders of the land and we find all we find is the place we started. This whole place is a maze!"

"Apparating?" Chapin asked, but not with much hope. If they could have apparated, they would have before.

Alice shook her head, which were still firm in her hands. "I hate this place."

"Ally," Frank said lovingly, holding out a hand for her to hold.

She looked up at her name and took her husband's hand. She gave a tiny smile of thanks, which Frank returned.

"I guess. I better learn to. hate it too," Chapin said, mostly to himself.

"Do you want to stay here?" Alice asked kindly.

Again Chapin's eyes turned to her. "I would be. Most grateful. Thank y-you." Another coughing fit came to him.

Alice and Frank got up together and came over to Chapin. Frank bent down and tried to get a look into the man's eyes. When he did he saw something he didn't expect from such a young man. Those eyes looked tired and worn out. It was as if this man had lived two lives already and couldn't stand a third. They held gazes for a moment and the coughing stopped. It reminded him of Dumbledore, and how he sometimes looked 300 years older than he was.

"How did you. Come up with such a nice. Place? You said. You were lost." Chapin asked as he looked back into this kind man called Frank's eyes.

"Long story."

Frank sighed and took the chair closest. Alice could see he was tired, so she put her hand on Chapin's shoulder gently and said, "Why don't we find somewhere for you to sleep?"

Surprisingly, Chapin nodded and got up from his chair rather quickly and followed Alice up the stairs to the second floor. One minute this guy was weak and coughing, and the next he could sprint up stairs. How very creepy he seemed.

Alice came back down after fifteen minutes and found Frank had not moved a bit from where he was. He just stared straight ahead out a window as the sun was setting. She frowned slightly and went over to him. He did not move until she held out her hand, just as he had done a little while ago. He took her hand and stood up, then he followed Alice to their bedroom. When they entered, she turned around to face him, hands still together. Frank slowly spun her around into his arms and held her.

She smiled at him and rested her head on his chest. She felt so safe in his arms, she always had. Back when they were younger, they would spend hours just sitting under the stars and relaxing. Of course, that was after everyone thought Voldemort was gone for good and there was nothing to worry about. Those were the days.

He held her close and thought how much there should be a child between them, one 'big' family. They'd be happy and safe together. But, those things were not to dwell on. The day when three stood together was most unlikely to ever come. Nope, there was nothing to change that. He'd tried all he could do, but with little results. They were lost- cut off from the outside world.. Neville wasn't. He should be grateful for that, right? He would rather have them lost then for it to be the other way around. At least, that's what he kept telling himself.

_Listen to yourself! You're turning into a lost soul! Get a grip on yourself, Frank!_

"I want him back," Alice whispered suddenly.

"I know, Ally, I know," Frank soothed. "We're going to find him, don't worry. He'll be fine, we'll be fine. All of us together will come someday and then we will have forgotten all this time now. Don't you even dare think otherwise, got it?"

Alice nodded slowly to show she knew what he wanted. But... she couldn't help but feeling that those days would never come. They'd just live on hope, and then they would die with it. And if Neville had the same ideas that he'd see them, then he would die with that as well. Such a sad story, but there wasn't a thing they could do about it. No one could help such a thing. No! There is someone coming to help us! Or at least, that's what she kept telling herself.

A tear came down from her eyes. And then more came after. She sniffled and hugged her husband tighter. He held her like that for over an hour, but had taken to lying on the bed instead of standing. The quiet through the entire house just made Alice feel worse. But, she stayed with Frank, close. At least she had him. But, she would NOT leave it at that. Oh no, sir! Her boy was out there somewhere, and she vowed to get him back, no matter what. Too many thoughts, only one brain!

_**-**_

_Different place, same time._

_**-**_

Vix glanced at the long list of Hogwarts students. Severus said he was going to this place, but was he still there? No, he wouldn't be there after all these years. He should have checked earlier, but he had to wait until he was old enough to get into the Valley Community Rooms. That included nearly every place that was even slightly interesting, in his opinion.

So, nothing in the list of students. But, maybe the staff? No, that would be stupid. Severus Snape, a _teacher_? Never.

He put that scroll down, deciding it was useless anyway. He'd looked on every list he could think of: The Missing Wizards List, England; The List of Married Wizards, England; The List List of Azkaban Prisoners... But, he'd also checked one every time he researched: The List of Dead Wizards, England. His name was never on it. Technically, that was a good thing, but where in the world was he?

Vix sighed and headed back towards the Inner Valley, the place where the "Ballencers" lived and roamed when they were not on duty. The Ballencers, much like caretakers, would watch over the land and set every event, person, and thing in order so that things ran smoothly. Most days, a Ballencer would go for a walk around the perimeter to keep an eye out for intruders, not that they'd really got many. When they did get one though, they did not last long.

To most communities, someone who did all this work would be respected. That was not the case here, not by a long shot. The 'higher authorities' of the Valley saw them one step above insects. They were considered to be bellow wizards, but they were not the worst thing in the Valley. For some Ballencers, that was a good thing, but there had been those who spoke out against the unfair treatment. They refused to work altogether. But, the amount of time they stayed alive was shorter than that of a mayfly. They were killed, locked up for good to go crazy or... they might just get the punishment themselves.

Vix was one of the few who got the punishment.

Back in the early days, the 'higher authorities' gave the perfect, at least in their minds perfect, name to the people who worked so hard, even though they were not liked (Ballencers). They had gotten the name because of the belief that they were there to "ballence out" the lowers and the highers. They, of course, there on the lowers. The Highers needed no reason, they just took control of what they pleased, not bothering to ask a Lower's opinion. That is what would get them in the end. You can't have a one-sided group of people run things. Sooner or later, they would make a mistake. Unfortunately, they hadn't done much of the sort in decades, so most were still happy and alive. Some living that is.

There were only a few ballencers in the Valley, and many more common people. Common people were those who were too young to be considered Ballencers, in other words, under 17 years old. All but one of the Ballencers were above 17. The youngest one, a girl, was only 15 years old. She must have worked for it because there were hardly ever exceptions to the rules. Perhaps she had worked a deal with the Highers, or had saved someone's life and was granted one wish she had. But, was that a good wish to make? Who knows...

Vix didn't care much anymore, and why should he? No one cared for him (or that's what he thought) and no one liked to be around him. Did they think he would snap if they spoke to him? Was he a bomb waiting to go off? Was he crazy? No, no, no. He wasn't those things, or he hoped he wasn't.

Severus was probably having a great time where ever he was if he hadn't even tried to find Vix again. Old "Seth" would be living in some manor, eating, drinking, and doing what he pleased. Of course, he was at the top of the mountain, while Vix lay down at the bottom, hoping for someone to save him. He hadn't been that bad as a child for Seth to hate him. All children were like that, weren't they? Of course they were, Vix assured himself. Wow, if Seth could take a moment from all his fun to take a look at the underdog, he'd have better knowledge of how the world worked.

Vix made a mental note to punch Severus for being a rich, stupid, living-like-a-king, uncaring _git_. Take that, Severus! Vix took out the small tree he saw that reminded him of Seth.

That will show him.

_**-**_

_Different place, same time._

_**Death Eater Meeting.**_

_**-**_

"My Lord," Severus spoke softly to Voldemort, kneeling low in front of him.

Severus kept his head down as his 'Master' told him the plan. In certain points, he thought he would lose control of his mind and every single Order secret would be unleashed. But, thank Mer- uh, no. He didn't much care for the man now that he'd met him. Thank the stars, I guess, that he had not let himself slip. He was lucky.

"You will see that the.. _Gryffindor_.. **_child_**.. is alone when our dear Lucius arrives, will you not?" Voldemort's voice was nothing that even seemed to resemble a human.

"Yes, my Lord," Severus replied.

"Good," Voldemort let out, then got out his wand and pointed it down at the Death Eater Severus.

Severus held his breath as he knew what was coming.

"_Crucio_!"

_**-**_

**A/N: **Uh oh... **Which Gryffindor is it**! Hehehee... It could be any of them! And now you have a character's name, our baddie, **Zudan**. He is the one who has been talking to Esor. For some reason, he wants our dear Neville. Strange, huh?

If you've still got the thought that **the Valley is a nice place to live**, then shame shame shame! It's horrible most of the time. It turns otherwise kind, or semi-kind people into monsters! Sound like anyone we know. He's from every HP book, he just got Crucio-ed... ring anything:)

Please review, thank you. BTW (by the way), next chapter is about Ronnie! Also, Kimpson, Snape, Lup- oh! did I say that?

PS- I know this is shorter than the last, but I will most definitely try to make the next one longer. It shouldn't be too hard, seeing as what's going on. :)


	15. B, Out of Sight, Out of Mind

**A/N:** This chapter is in the present and the exact date is told in this chapter. I hope you like the new bit!

**DarkLordLongbottom:** My reviewer's response is in my profile page, so please go there to see it! Thanks SOO much for reading!

_**Turning Your Time Around**_

**Dedicated to: Anyone who has had the pleasure of eating a Vomit-flavored bean from Bertie Bott's E.F.B. Ewww, that was horrible!**

**_Chapter 15: "Out of Sight, Out of Mind"_**

_**-**_

**November 14, 1999:**

Albus Dumbeldore sat behind his desk, head tilted up towards the ceiling, wondering what was going to happen next. As if the fight against Voldemort wasn't enough, now he had to worry about disappearing students. And Albus was quite certain that none of the people in his office earlier had been convinced that Neville Longbottom had gone to visit his grandmother. That ment that they knew something he didn't which didn't sound good, as 'Dumbledore knows everything'.

Why did people think that he knew all that was to be known? Was it some sort of vibe that came off from him, or was it just something they hoped was true. They must expect me to save them, Albus thought. That was in no way true. He could only do what he thought was best with the knowledge he had, and even though it's possible to be very good at handling things, one cannot be perfect. But, one thing he often pondered over, was that you can be blind to the wrongs of your ways. You can keep pushing forward with your own thoughts and not give a single second that you are not doing what is best. That was something that Dumbledore himself had been accused of at times. But, thankfully, people trusted him to get them through this war and there were still people who were loyal to him. But, the thing that scared him more than any other was the fact that Voldemort was nearly exactly the same. He believed all non-purebloods were lower than dirt, and he was blind to anything different from his beliefs. It would be surprising to see who would finally win in the end.

Albus brought his head down a bit to see the top of the desk before him. Directly on the top there was a thick journal with a purple cover. On the front, in silver print, the phrase "The Snake Rules the World" was shining brightly even though the sun had since long gone down and the candles dimmed very low. Opening to the first page he saw, but chose to ignore, the name _Haydee_ signed at the top. Albus skipped the first page entry and flipped through to the last entry ever written in the book. The words made him frown and set the journal aside once again. After ten minutes of trying to pick it back up and read it, the Headmaster gave up and decided it would not do well to become depressed at a time like this- a war. That would only insure their defeat by Voldemort & his followers.

There was no way he was going down without a fight, not a chance. Voldemort was not that lucky, nor was Albus stupid.

_**-**_

Remus Lupin walked the corridors of Hogwarts alone, searching for something to occupy his mind. There was nothing of much of interest in the books he'd brought with him to the school and he'd read them all before five times. He had thought about asking Dumbledore if he needed help with anything, but figured the Headmaster did not want to be bothered, so here he was walking in near-complete darkness as he tried to avoid the world.

I am turning into Severus, Lupin thought. Thinking of Snape, he turned down towards the dungeons. Maybe he would have some decent reading that would keep him busy. He'd have to stand Snape's nasty words, but he was desperate for a destraction. Who knows, he might even get to cast a spell or two to save him from the many Snape was sure to throw at him for being bothered.

When Remus had been a student, he hadn't taken any fun in watching James and Sirius prank Snape. Some of the things they'd done to him.. for a while he didn't even speak to them because of their pranks. James, Sirius and the rat took pleasure in seeing Snape angry and loved it even more when they themselves caused it. A few times Remus told them to stop, even pulled a wand on his best friends after the werewolf incident. They sure were surprised when "good ol' Moony" sent jinxes and hexes spinning around them.

Just then, somewhere in his mind, he got the feeling he was forgetting something. It was something important... from long ago... But what was it? Remus did not have time to find out since he had just reached the door to Severus' rooms. Sighing softly, he knocked on the door.

When no one answered, he repeated his knock and waited for a response. Not a sound came from the room for two minutes, and then the clinking of footsteps behind the door. Remus stepped back, readying himself for Snape's grumpy mood. The door opened just far enough for a pair of eyes to look out. The inside of the room was totally dark, so he could not see anything but a shine from the eyes reflecting the lit torches on the walls of the hall.

"Severus, I was wondering if you had a moment to lend me a book," Remus said, trying not too sound too hopeful.

The eyes blinked once and then Snape moved to close the door, but not before he muttered, "Go away werewolf."

Remus, putting his hand on the door to keep it from closing, replied, "Please, Severus? It'll only take a mo-"

But, as he gently pushed the door to stay open, the door swung open without much effort. Snape grunted and tried again to shut it in his face, but it was no use. Snape could barely manage to move it at all. Instead, he swayed and nearly fell before he caught himself on the wall. He clutched his side and drew a slow breath.

Remus couldn't see, but heard the labored breathing of the Potions master. He decided to push the door all the way open and walk in. There was defiantly something wrong if Snape couldn't even close the door in his normal rudeness. Remus pulled out his wand and whispered "**_Lumos_**" to light the room. What he saw was not what he expected at all.

The room was a total wreck. Potion vials were smashed, papers were thrown everywhere, and a strange smell filled the room. Being what he was, he could tell right away that it was the smell of blood. Completely taken off guard by the smell, he stepped back one step and raise a hand to his mouth as he coughed a few times. He then turned to see Severus leaning on the wall, eyes closed and hand on his side. Remus rushed over to him, wand still up.

Snape drew back as the light came on the other side of his eyelids. But, unfortunately, his quick motion was enough to throw him of balance. He tried to cling to the wall, but it was no use. He fell into a heap on the floor with a slight 'thud'.

Dimming the light from his wand, Remus bent down and rolled Severus over to see his face.

"Severus?" Remus tried to get his attention, but the man's eyes would not open to him. "Severus, please open your eyes. It's only Remus, I just want to help," Remus pleaded. When the Potions master did not even move (apart from breathing, though that was just slow movements) Remus sighed and decided to try a different tact. "Fine." He started to get up, but never intended on leaving. "I will just have to get the Headmaster. I'm sure he can-"

Remus stopped when a hand clamped around his wrist, holding it weakly but not shaky. He bent back down and waited for the other to insult him or tell him to shut his mouth and mind his own business. But, nothing of the sort came.

Severus sucked in a sharp breath and said in a low voice, "What do you think of our Headmaster?"

"What?" came Remus' blunt reply, not expecting in a million years to be asked this from Severus.

"What do you think of him?" Snape repeated, his eyes still not open. His voice was slightly lined with a hateful tone that had only been used for Voldemort or the Minister of Magic.

"Severus, I think you should go see Poppy," Remus told him, concern evident in his expression. Too bad Severus had his eyes closed.

"No," Snape replied flatly as he brang his hand up to his head and felt the cuts on his face. They must have done those after he went unconscious. The other's voice floated through his ears and he turned his head (with closed eyes) to his direction.

"At least let me help you up. I am not just going to leave you here on the cold stone floor. Come on."

Remus took hold of the hand Severus was running across his cuts and slowly helped him into a sitting position. Together, they rose to their feet and stood in near-complete darkness.

"Severus, do you never light a fire in here? It's cold and dark. How do you stand it?" Remus asked the Potions master as he turned up the light from his wand.

"Years of practice," the man replied simply.

Remus frowned and noticed Snape still had his eyes closed.

"Why won't you open your eyes?" Remus asked, the concerned look appearing again.

"Let me be, werewolf," the other snapped back at him, now returning to his normal self. "I do not need _your_ help."

Remus totally ignored the last two statements and thought of a way to get him to come out and open his eyes. An idea popped into his head and he was sure it would work. He was correct.

"Severus!" Remus exclaimed, fake fright in his tone.

"What?" Snape asked hurriedly, moving his head around, but leaving his eyelids down. "What is it?"

"Show yourself!" Remus yelled at the imaginary intruder. He flicked his wand and made a few of the books fall off shelves. The little panther on the desk watched and tried to keep from making noise from some sort of laugh it was holding back.

"**_Expelliermus_**!" Remus got the treacherous chair square in the back and it fell over with a clatter.

With much effort and a grimace, Severus slowly let his eyelids move up.

As soon as they did, Remus sent and Immobile charm at him. Remus moved forward and got a good look at them. He gasped and stepped back in surprise. A red film covered his eyes, giving off a florescent glow about his face. But, the bits that were still visible of his normal eye showed nothing but hatred. Remus had tricked the Potions master, and he would not be forgiven very easily. Though, Remus did not care.

He ran to where a fire _should_ be, lit one by his wand then took some Floo powder and called Pomfrey. Within a few minutes, she was stepping through the fire and ran over to Remus who was standing near Snape. If the charm wore out, he'd like a few seconds head start to get away from him and his anger.

"What's the matter here?" Pomfrey asked as she looked between the two.

"His eyes Poppy, look at his eyes!" Remus waved a hand a Snape as he dragged her over to him.

Snape looked about half a second away from exploding from anger, but his eyes were still colored red. As Poppy saw his eyes, along with the glowing, she had the same reaction as Remus. After recovering from teh shock, she pulled out her wand and lit the room as bright as she could get it. Remus drew back further as he now saw the cuts and blood that covered his face. He'd thought that was the glowing red, but it had not been. What in the world was happening to this man?

_**-**_

As Ron opened the door to the 6th year boy's dormitory, he heard the hangings of a bed being torn back. He was barely two steps in when Harry pounced on him.

"Where have you been?" Harry was nearly shouting, but Ron hardly noticed. He was used to this tone of voice ever since Sirius had died.

Ron shrugged and sat down on his bed, just wanting to go to sleep even though he hadn't had dinner. There was always breakfast tomorrow, he thought. So, ignoring Harry's yelling at him for explanations, he laid down and closed his eyes.

Harry let out a frustrated breath and went over to his bed as well. It was about two hours later, Ron asleep, dinner going on, when Harry heard something rolling across the floor of the dormitory. As he glanced down, he saw an all to familiar looking glass ball- -Neville's rememberall.

Harry bent down over the side of his bed and picked it up to look at. As soon as he touched it, the smoke inside turned red. Could he be forgetting something? Then an idea came to his mind: was it some_one_ he was forgetting? Harry had barely paid any attention to Neville's absence, mostly because he was too busy thinking about "what ifs". 'What if Sirius hadn't died.' and 'What if there was no Voldemort.' but one of the most common was 'What if it hadn't been me who was chosen'. It was pretty much 50/50 in his eyes, he was just the unlucky one out of him and Neville. But, would he be alive if Neville had been chosen? It was not very likely, he thought, given Neville's past performance in casting spells and charms. But, who knows, it might have been over already if Neville had been the "Boy-Who-Lived". 'What if he could have defeated him.'? No chance in finding out. And then it hit him.

"Oh great," Harry grumbled as he jumped off his bed and threw the rememberall aside. "Snape's going to kill me."

He had been forgetting his detention from Potions class was tonight. That was all he needed. Harry didn't even notice as the rememberall rolled around on the floor and stopped at the bed post. If he had, he might have seen Neville's carved message from 1974.

_**-**_

**A/N:**

The name "**Haydee**" comes from a character in **_The Count of Monte Cristo_**.

The **title of this chapter **comes from the season five eppisode (#3) of **_MASH_**.

Well, what do you think? Review, please!


	16. B, The Caretaker of Hogwarts

**A/N:** This chapter is in the present and the exact date is told in this chapter. I hope you like the new bit!

**DarkLordLongbottom: **About Dumbledore, no one knows his real motives (except I tell his feelings most of the time) characters don't ever know what's goin' through his head, and that's what makes him so dangerous. I won't deny he makes me angry all the time in the books, but I still think everyone's got a good side.. a few exceptions... Yes, Snape's gotten a spanking! Um, Voldemort (AKA Tom) was the one who did it. He must be getting on the smart side.. he's thinkin' someone's spilling his plans to Subla (Albus). Merlin's sure going to take advantage of that to get on the other's good side. After you read this chapter, though, we'll find out who is gonna be conning whom. Heh heh... Ah ha! I'm glad ya picked that up about the memory problem! There is something else hidden in the story, I don't know if you've seen it already, but if you haven't I hope it's a great surprise that was staring you in the face the whole time! Evil laughs... Oh geez, I'm turning into you! Nooo! j/k :)

Ohh yes, Ron did have quite a bit nagging at him- you find out just how much in this chapter! I read a new chapter today of a Snape & Harry story and I realized that there was still something that I needed to get out about Ron. I'd thought about it after I read book five, and I think there had to be something that lingered from the Battle at the DoM (don't count Harry loosing Sirius). Something strange- Neville found time to carve that message, but he forgets something else that he will be regretting for the rest of his life. Poor Nev...

I get a feeling you might not like this chapter (though you very well may, I dunno) only because of the crying thing. If you wonder why I think this, well, I just read what you have on your profile page. When you say 'THATS WHY HE WILL DESTROY ALL OF YOU LITTLE FOOLS. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. BOW TO DARKNESS YOU FOOL.' I don't know why, but I think ya might not like the cryin'. So sue me:) Enjoy-I hope-! I think I made up for it with Filch's bit, did I? We'll see...

_**Turning Your Time Around**_

_**By: Cheelalaucha**_

**Dedicated to: Everyone who has read a Snape/Harry (non-slash) story.**

_**B; Chapter 16: "The Caretaker of Hogwarts"**_

_**-**_

**November 14, 1999: (night)**

"Harry, we saw Uranus up close," Ron mumbled in his sleep, turning over and wrapping the covers tighter around himself. He continued to whisper softly as he slept, dreams bouncing around in his head. "We saw Uranus- -ha ha ha- Loony Lovegood- ha ha ha-"

Ron's voice grew quieter still as his dreams took a different turn. "Brain... Accio... no, I don't... I don't like it... no no no..." Ron snapped his eyes open, and went rolling off the bed and onto the floor. He had been trying to get away from the brain in the Department of Mysteries and had woken up at the same time. Or, it looked like he was awake- his eyes were open and he was moving his head back and forth.

The dormitory was dark, it was probably close to midnight. He rubbed his hurting arm which had acted as a pillow for his head against the stone floor.

"What's going on?" Dean asked as light brightened the room from a candle in the corner. Within a minute, all the sixth year Gryffindors, apart from Neville who had been MIA for a few days, were awake and looking around for signs of danger.

Harry got up from his bed, trying not to think about the fact that Madam Pomfrey had been in the dungeons when he had got for detention, and moved over to Ron's bed where he could hear movement on the floor.

"Ron, what happened?" Harry gasped as he knelt down to him. His hands were now covering his face as he rolled back and forth on the floor.

"Don't show me any more! I don't want to know!" Ron shouted and gave a tiny sob into his hands.

"Ron! Ron wake up!" Harry yelled at him as he realized shaking him was getting nowhere.

Ron stopped moving at once and his hands slipped away from his face. In an instant, he was on his feet and at the dormitory door.

Harry watched his best friend bolt for the door and run out without even saying a word. He turned to see the other stunned sixth years Seamus and Dean.

"What was that all about?" Dean asked in a low voice, still looking at the door in horror.

"This place's weird," Seamus muttered and followed the other two out of the dormitory and into the common room. Harry looked around frantically for Ron, but found no one. A couple of chairs were knocked over but that was about it, or that all he had seen.

Right then, Ginny and Hermione came down the stairs to the girl's rooms, both looked sleepy but frightened.

"What was all that noise down here? This place is a mess!" Hermione said, directing her words to Harry.

Harry took a better look around, and found she was right. He hadn't noticed the corner bye the fire. Paintings had fallen from the floor and a table was overturned.

As Hermione came over to Harry, she noticed the wide eyes he had and asked, "Harry, what's wrong?" She wasn't prepared for his answer.

"It was Ron," Harry said, almost not heard since his voice was so low.

"_What?_" Harmione asked, her eyes as wide as Harry's.

"It was Ron," he repeated, still shocked that what he was saying was the truth.

"He started babbling about not wanting to see something and when Harry tried to snap him out of it, he just up and left," Seamus supplied bluntly.

"Thanks," Harry snapped with a scowl.

Seamus backed off and Harry spoke again. "We need to find him."

With that, Harry, Hermione, Ginny and Dean left through the portrait hole. Seamus yawned and walked sleepily back to the dormitory and fell asleep in his bed.

_**-**_

Ron kept running until he was far, far away from Gryffindor Tower. He found a deserted corridor and leaned against the wall, then sliding down it to sit on the floor. He put his hands over his face again and sighed with relief at being out, away from his bed and Harry. Every time he saw him, he remembered the night in the DoM.

Ron brought his hands down from his face, only to hit his forehead with a fist. He hastily wiped away the stray tears on his face and rested his head on a hand. I'm a sixth year- -I'm sixteen, I shouldn't be scared of a little nightmare! What would Fred and George say if they saw me like this! Don't be a wimp, Ron it's only dreams! Ron's thoughts and reprimanding of himself were fled away and replaced by a bit of fear when he heard a familiar voice from the left.

"Mr. Weasley, may I ask what has gotten you so worked up?" Dumbledore's twinkling eyes met his and he immediately looked away, fearing he would know about Merlin and all the planning against him.

The Headmaster noticed the boy's fear and frowned. "Mr. Weasley," he spoke the young one's name to get his attention, which worked, though there was a moment of hesitation as the boy looked up. "Is there something you wish to tell me?"

Ron held the Headmaster's gaze for a few seconds before looking back down as his hands.

Dumbledore could see he was not going to get much from asking these questions, so he tried a different tact, wondering if his theory had been correct about the youngest male Weasley. "If I said: 'The morning sun raises in the clouds but does not shine'-"

The Weasley's red head shot up at that, his eyes wide with horror. "I would say: 'The world has ended but the creatures are still alive.' How-" The boy's voice cracked and he swallowed, but did not say more.

The Headmaster's face softened as understanding swept through him. His theory had been right, but that did not make him feel any better. This poor child, he thought.

Ron watched with the same expression as Dumbledore walked closer and sat down slowly next to him. The Headmaster wasn't looking at him, but he still felt as if he were. Ron reminded himself that the man sitting next to him was the one he was trying to fight and he should not fall for any of his tricks. But, a small part of him was saying he should trust this man- he had, after all, protected him and countless others for years inside the school.

"I suppose I should have asked you about this last year, but I wasn't sure if it had affected you very much. You must have been wound up with that thing for a long while." The Headmaster took a quick glance at Ron, his long beard moving over his body gracefully.

"The brain, sir?" Ron finally spoke again, though it was quiet and scared-sounding.

"Yes," Dumbledore replied, and after a pause asked another question he wasn't sure would get an answer. "How long have you been having dreams, Mr. Weasley?" He didn't have to specify which ones he was talking about, Ron knew exactly what he ment.

"On-only wh-when I've got a lot to think about," Ron said in a sad tone, and a shiver ran through his whole body. No, you're not going to cry- you little scaredy cat! No- don't listen to him, Ron, he doesn't know anything! Yes! You know the man next to you is bad- kill him where his stands, he's old and one good punch-

Ron could not take it any longer, especially after thinking that. He was good ol' Ron, the little Weasley boy- he couldn't be thinking these horrible things! Ron turned his head away from Dumbledore and tried to blink away tears that came to his eyes. He didn't care if anyone saw him, so what? A whole summer of thoughts like that punching one was enough, and he could not take what it was doing inside him. Those were not ideas (hurting friends, his parents, people he didn't even know!) he'd had before, and he didn't want them anymore.

A gentle hand rested on his shoulder, and Ron turned back his head to see Dumbledore. He was losing his fight against crying. A tear from each eye came down, and he moved to brush them away, but Dumbledore's hand stopped him and he put his hand down. Dumbledore raised his hand to the boy's face and dried the tears himself. His expression was one of deep sadness, but also there was a loving glow in his eye. He loved all the children in his school and could not bare to see so many unhappy.

Dumbledore moved closer to the young Weasley, hoping to make the boy feel safer to talk to him. It defiantly did.

"I don't mean to think it!" Ron blurted out, slightly edging on the panicked side. "I don't mean to think any of it!"

Sensing the next things to come, the Headmaster put an arm around the boy gently. It took only a few seconds for Ron to totally break down and just lean his head on the Headmaster's chest and cry.

Dumbledore hugged the Gryffindor tight which reassured him it was alright to just cry. Every one cries sometime, no matter what the age. He could tell the boy had tried his best not to let it happen, after all, what would happen if someone had come along and seen him? If the young Malfoy had seen him, he knew there would be hell to pay and he'd never let anything out again. The only exception to 'everyone cries' might be Voldemort. He was hardly very human-acting.

After ten minutes, Ron was quieter but he still had a few tears falling silently. Ron's red eyes peered up at him. He could sense hesitation in what he was going to say.

Between sniffles, Ron gasped out, "Head-headmaster Dumbledore.. He's after you.. He wan-wants to get you out of the s-s-school..."

"Who?" Dumbledore asked the young one, but made sure not to move from his comforting position.

"M-m-mm.." Ron tried, and failed to say his name and took a moment to get himself settled before he said the name steadily. "Merlin."

Ron waited for Dumbledore to move away from him and start yelling at him for answers, but the man didn't move. He did however get a look of deep thought from him. Ron moved his head down again, hoping they could just stay there for a little while.

The Headmaster could feel the need for company still coming from the boy, so he stayed in place and held him close. On the outside he looked calm, but the old wizard's mind was going through idea after idea about how in the world Merlin of all people would be after him, and how this sixth year Gryffindor could have possibly known about it. He had been right in suspecting something was wrong, and now, the Headmaster sure felt his age.

_**-**_

Argus Filch walked the halls of Hogwarts, following his cat, searching for any stupid child that dare come out at night. Oh, how he loved punishing them. He'd love it a lot more if he could hang them by their thumbs and listen to the music (screaming) that they made. They were all so lucky to have the chance to get everything they wanted from their magic. Just let 'em rot, for all he cared!

And that Potter was the worst of them all, he was sure of that. He had fame, money, family, and had the Headmaster watching out for his well-being around the clock every night he could spare. What a bunch of idiots. He was looking forward to the end of that Potter's school years. A secret party had been set up at his graduation to celebrate. Snape, the Bloody Baron, and Peeves had all agreed to come and throw darts (since Filch couldn't use magic spells) at Potter's picture. The one who gets both eyes gets the chance to torment him first on his last day. It wasn't much, but what else did they have to do? Anyway, Potter's going away was a great cause for a party.

As he continued on he hit a brick wall with a thud and fell backwards. He'd been thinking too much about that Potter and hadn't looked where he was going. Damn that Potter yet again. I wish I could just-

But, he'd just looked at where he was. Not five minutes ago, he'd come this way and all the torches had been lit. Not a single one was burning now. Why was that? Argus could feel his leg twitching- a sure sign that there was going to be trouble. That was probably the only bit of magic he had in him, he could tell when dark magic was lurking. But, knowing something was hunting him did not ease his mind. Why would it?

He moved only his eyes to look around, fearing the second he moved a hand or something, he'd be dust. He saw nothing out of the ordinary, apart from the torches not being lit. His leg twitched a little more and he knew it was only seconds before something was going to pounce on him. Like a flash of lightning, he was on his feet and running down the hall. A flash of red light wizzed over his head. That one had almost gotten him. Gotta move! Filch thought.

He ducked behind a statue of the first caretaker Hogwarts ever had, and just narrowly missed another red light. He was gonna die, he knew it. But, wasn't green light the Killing Curse? He'd heard of it so many times from wizard's books. He hated reading some of those, but that was the only thing in the library that gave even the slightest of interest. Not only was he doomed to live in this place, there was no decent reading available for him! What a hellhole.

Uh great, he'd done it again! He'd gotten caught up in his thoughts and he was going to pay for it again. BOOM! The statue exploded into pieces, and another red light shot at him. He crouched low and was able to miss it. You learned to be quick in this castle. But, one thing remained a disadvantage.. this place was Hogwarts, and anyone who set foot in there was put onto the bottom of the foodchain. Doomed for life, was his last thought as yet another red light shot from before him, and he fell over, unconscious.

No one cares for the caretaker.

_**-**_

**A/N**: OH yay! Another out for ya! I LOVED writing this chapter! I'm just strange that way, you know.

What will happen with the **Ron/Nev/Merlin/Albus/Rotiart/Snape/Chapin/Zudan** thing? Who should you believe? Humm, well, 4 out of 8 are good guys, 3 others are semi-good, and one is totally dark. Does that help at all? I hope you are mad at the vagueness of that!

**About Filch's future-** I could surly make a spin-off of what happens to him, cough-he teams up with the world's greatest brat Dudley-cough, but I don't think anyone would read it. We all know how much Filch loves Potter, imagine Dudley as a cellmate. Ohh my goodness! Perhaps a one-shot bit? Let me know what ya think.

_**-**_

_**Next chapter/coming soon:**_

_"Ron stood up in anger and walked to the middle of the circle._

_'He's after us,' he stated, getting the attention of every person. 'He is trying to destroy us all and this school by tricking us into believing the people around are on the Dark Side. We can't let him do that. Who agrees?'_

_More than one hand raised, and Ron sighed, glad to have gotten through. His happiness was short-lived as just then, a buzzing filled the room. Not now!_

_'Professor!' Ron said in a panicked voice to Snape._

_'Sweet **Merlin**, here we go again,' Severus muttered under his breath."_


	17. B, Ronald

**A/N:** A little recap in the new characters...

**_Rotiart_**- First met Neville in the Toss Room in 1974. Talks to Neville in his sleep, most of the time.

**_Chapin_**- First met Frank & Alice; he's with them still. Talks slow and doesn't seem very healthy.

**_Vix_**- Nearly died, Severus saved him. Lives in the Valley. Spends free time searching for Severus, who he believes is still alive.

**_Zudan_**- Has been in contact with Neville & Frank & Alice. He's using Esor to get to Neville for some reason. Not a good person. Is able to change his voice to that of any other's. Is a fan of the Dark Lord's work.

This chapter is in the present and the exact date is told in this chapter. I hope you like the new bit!

**DarkLordLongbottom:** Review response in my profile page! Thanks for reading on! Oh! And Merlin does get him back for telling...

_**Turning Your Time Around**_

_**By: Cheelalaucha**_

**Dedicated to: Anyone who has seen the TV show _Lost_. The season (#1) final is this Wednesday on ABC, don't miss it!**

_**B; Chapter 17: "Ronald?"**_

_**-**_

**November 14, 1999: (night)**

The Headmaster could feel the need for company still coming from the boy, so he stayed in place and held him close. On the outside he looked calm, but the old wizard's mind was going through idea after idea about how in the world Merlin of all people would be after him, and how this sixth year Gryffindor could have possibly known about it. He had been right in suspecting something was wrong, and now, the Headmaster sure felt his age.

The sound of grinding stone was heard through the corridor. Albus Dumbledore was halted in his ponderings and turned his head towards the direction of the noise. Ron did the same and then looked back up at the older wizard. The Headmaster and the young Weasley exchanged curious looks, and both moved to stand up.

Before they could get very far, though, Mrs. Norris came bounding at them. Dumbledore held out his arms, and the cat jumped gracefully into them. He held up the cat to see into its eyes. As he did so, the cat gave a loud, frightented _'meow!' _and gently pawed at the wizard's beard.

"What's wrong?" the Headmaster asked the cat as if expecting it to talk to him. Another few 'meow's and the man nodded and placed the cat back down on the ground. "Lead me there." The cat went and did as he was told, Dumbledore following close behind.

Ron stood there, mouth open, eyes wide and mind going haywire. Had he just seen the Headmaster of Hogwarts.. _speak_.. with a cat? Actually, he spoke, the cat just said "meow", but still...

He realized Dumbledore was turned towards him, obviously waiting for him to come along. Ron snapped out of his shocked expression and walked to where the man stood. The Headmaster wanted him to follow? What had he done to deserve such an honor? Well, to him it was an honor, after all- what other teachers would allow him to come to whatever was going on? He could think of none other than Dumbledore.

"Keep alert, Mr. Weasley," Dumbledore whispered to him as Mrs. Norris guided them to where she had last seen Filch. Ron nodded and glanced all around for signs of movement. As they continued on, an eerie moaning floated around them. A bit of stone crunched under Ron's shoe and he shivered at the awful sound it made. By now, both of them had their wands out, Dumbledore's lighted and Ron's just sitting in his shaking hand.

Another moan echoed down the corridor, but this time Ron recognized it was coming from a person- not a creature- as he had thought before. Another teen's face came into view and Ron knew who it was in a second.

"Kimpson!" Ron yelled to him, running past Dumbledore to help him. Dumbledore's hand wrapped around his arm and pulled him back. Ron looked up with questioning eyes at the Professor, but the older man was not looking at him. An odd pink light shot out of the Headmaster's wand tip, zipping all around them, then slithered back into the wizard's wand. A flick of his wand and Dumbledore levitated Kimpson to them.

Kimpson groaned and put a hand over each ear to keep out the sounds only he could hear.

"It was a trap," Dumbledore explained to the still unknowing Gryffindor Ron.

Ron did not seem to have understood, but waited for later to ask his questions. Boy, that was sure a change from his normal self- acting smart and keeping his mouth shut- something he'd failed to do earlier that very night.

Dumbledore didn't speak again until they (Ron, himself, Kimpson, & Mrs. Norris) had reached the stone gargoyle to the Headmaster's office, and that was only a "lemon drop surprise".

In the office of the great Albus Dumbledore, the atmosphere was pleasant, a slight contradiction from what its occupants felt. After pushing a book in on one of the bookshelves, they all entered the secret 'guest' bedroom. Or, in other words, the place Albus used to hide people he did not wish to be found. The Headmaster laid Kimpson down on the small, yet comfortable bed gently. The boy's hands were trembling at his sides. He'd stopped trying to block out the screeching when they had reached the office. Albus spoke a spell, and the younger one stilled and quieted within seconds.

"What's wrong with him, sir?" Ron asked the Headmaster.

In return, the man sighed and said, "I fear there has been an evil wizard in this school tonight, Ronald. I do not know how, but that is not of most importance this moment. Our dear Mr. Filch, the caretaker, has gone missing."

Ron was surprised to hear the Headmaster call him by his first name, having never heard the man do so before. But, the mention of Filch brought his eyes down to the cat sitting upon the floor, staring at him. So that's what they'd.. er.. _talked_ about.

Albus turned his head to the entrance and sighed yet again. "Ronald, please watch over this young man while I take care of the people waiting outside my door. If he should wake, try to keep him calm."

"Yes, sir," Ron responded, and Albus walked out of the room, sealing it as he went. Bright candles lit the room, but that did not make the place very welcoming. Ron sat on one of the wooden chairs next to the bed, listening for whoever was talking with the Headmaster in his office. With a jolt, Ron realized that it was Harry talking. He hit his head with his fist again. He'd left them all in the dormitory without any explanation!

_"We've looked everywhere, sir, and we can't find him!" Harry was nearly yelling._

_The Headmaster, however, was calm as could be- he knew exactly where the Weasley child was. "Mr. Weasley is just fine, I assure you. Now, please return to your common rooms and you shall see him tomorrow."_

_"But-!" Harry started, then stopped and Ron heard a door slam after a few seconds._

Dumbledore came back into the guest bedroom five minutes later looking slightly saddened.

"Sir?" Ron said, getting up from his chair and walking to Albus. "Are you all right?"

Albus smiled at him with twinkling eyes and replied, "Yes, Ronald. Thank you for your concern, I shall be fine with some rest."

Ron wasn't very convinced. "Are you sure, Professor?"

Albus walked over to him and smiled yet again. "I've been better, it's true, but right now I am content. After we take care of this young Ravenclaw, we shall both get some sleep. You are welcome to stay here, if you like. I dare say you will not get much rest if you return to your dormitory."

Ron smiled back and nodded. A flicking of his wand, and a bed appeared in the opposite corner of Kimpson's. Albus took the seat beside Kimpson's bed and looked the boy over. Ron's smile turned into a frown, though made sure that Albus did not see it. He could not explain it, but he got this feeling that the Headmaster had not sat down because he wanted to examine Kimpson, but because he was exhausted. He'd tried to hide it by helping Kimpson- to keep himself going -but Ron saw right past it. It was the strangest thing he'd ever felt and shook his head to make sure he was not dreaming.

Ron slowly walked over to the empty bed, never taking his eyes from the Headmaster. If he went to sleep now, maybe the Headmaster would too. He just could not help but worry for this person. Things were getting strange these days, so he blamed all the weird feelings on the voices in his head. Wait! That was it! The voices were telling him how he should act. This did not seem one of the harmful voices, so he went along with it.

Laying down and closing his eyes, he pretended to fall asleep. No matter how good Albus was, he did not sense the fake slumber of the boy. He covered the both of them up and re-entered his office, sealing the entrance as he left.

Ron opened his eyes and stared into the darkness. Two hours after the Headmaster had left, sounds could still be heard coming from his office. Hadn't Dumbledore gone to sleep yet? He'd looked so weak when he left, and tired also. This man really didn't relax much, did he? Ron swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood up. With a quick glance at Kimpson, he walked to the entrance of the room. He pressed his ear to the wood of the back of the bookcase. He could hear the scratching of a quill and the occasional shuffle of papers, but other than that, there was nothing. The man will work himself to death, Ron thought- or at least the voices thought/told him.

With an annoyed expression (because of the Headmaster not taking proper care of himself) he pushed the bookcase forward and walked out of the guest room and into the office. Dumbledore had looked up from his writing to see who was coming out, his quill still hovering above the desk he was sitting at. For a moment, neither spoke, just looked at the other. Ron looked frustrated, and Albus looked curious- though still had the twinkling eyes.

"Ronald?" Albus finally questioned. "Is there something you need? Or do you need to talk about something?" Albus' voice was gentle, and it almost made Ron forget saying anything and just go back in the room with Kimpson. But, the voice told him to stay firm to what he had come to do.

"I need to talk about something, sir," Ron said after a moment's pause.

"Well then," Albus said with a wave of his hand, "have a seat. I am up for a chat about anything. What do you want to talk about?"

Ron moved closer to the Headmaster's desk, but did not sit.

"You," Ron replied simply.

The Headmaster's eyebrows raised. He had not been expecting that. "Me?"

"Yes, you sir. Why are you still working? You look exhausted, and with all do respect, you don't look too good right now."

Albus' eyebrows went up farther. He really had not been expecting that, either.

When he did not get a reply, Ron stepped around to the side of the desk to face Dumbledore. The voice in his head told him exactly what he should do. He reached out a hand for the older wizard to take.

"I have much more I need to finish, Ronald. I cannot sleep yet. You, on the other hand, are young and need your sleep. I will manage," Dumbledore told him, but it was a little on the weak side from extreme exhaustion.

Ron did not let his hand fall one millimeter from where he had put it out. The lack of strength in the wizard's tone just reassured he was right. Or rather, reassured the voices in his head they were right. Ron looked into the Headmaster's eyes, which had now ceased to twinkle. This man really was tired.

With a small sigh and a glance at the stack of papers on his desk, he waved his hand and the quill fell into a small box on his desk. Albus took the hand that was offered to him by the young Gryffindor and pulled himself up (with the help of the boy).

Ron held on still and guided the over-worked wizard to the door at the top of the small staircase leading to the Headmaster's sleeping room. Only when they were in front of the door did Ron let go.

Albus gazed at him and put a hand on the younger's shoulder. "Thank you, my boy. Now, I'll sleep if you will, alright?"

"Yes, sir. I promise. Goodnight sir," Ron replied, (both he and the voices) satisfied that the man was going to rest.

"Goodnight, Ronald." And with that last word, the Headmaster opened the door to his room and stepped inside.

Ron went back down the stairs and over to the bookcase. Pushing the same book in that Dumbledore had, he walked in and pulled the entrance shut. He laid down on his bed and closed his eyes, this time going to sleep with a little less concern than before.

_**-**_

**November 15, 1999: (1 o'clock in the afternoon)**

"We saw Uranus up close.." Ron was mumbling in his sleep again.

Albus frowned. He'd thought maybe his presence would ease the young one's mind, actually, he hoped it would. He put a hand on the boy's shoulder and spoke his name.

"Ronald."

The young wizard's head turned from side to side and he began muttering in a more frightened tone.

"Subla bad.. no.. he's good, you idiot.. Merlin says bad.. I say good.. go away. Leave me alone!" The last bit was yelled out.

"Ronald, wake up," a gentle voice drifted into his ears. He knew that voice.. who was it though? Was it one that had been inside his head, or was it from a real person? He mind as well ask, he thought.

"Are you real?" Ron croaked out.

"Yes, Ronald, I am real. Wake up." Again he heard the voice. Oh well, he'd better believe someone for a change.

Ron stirred and his eyes flicked open to see both Albus Dumbledore and Kimpson leaning over him. Ron cleared his throat and tried to speak, but a shiver ran up his spine and he closed his mouth. He held on to the bedcovers as if they were a life source. Albus' frown deepened and he put a hand to the boy's forehead. He was burning up!

"Mr. Lovegood, check on my desk for a yellow box and bring it here," Dumbledore said hurriedly to Kimpson. The younger nodded and took off in search of the box.

Albus turned back to Ron and spoke in his calm, gentle voice. "Ronald, whatever you do, don't fall asleep, alright? You do not have to reply, just do not go back to sleep."

Ron tried to nod in return, but a pain shot through his chest and he gasped instead. Now, he was barely able to breath- what next!

"No no no no.." Albus put a hand on each of Ron's shoulders, holding him still, even though Ron was still gasping for air. "Listen to me, Ronald! Keep calm, breath in and out, okay?" The Headmaster was having a hard time keeping himself calm, let alone the Gryffindor in the bed.

Ron fought with his lungs to take a deep breath and let it out again. In his eyes, Albus could only see fear. "Keep breathing," Albus orderd. Ron did, more calmly this time, but still with difficulty.

Kimpson flew back into the room with a tiny yellow box in hand, holding it as if it were glass that could brake so easily. He handed it to Dumbledore who took the lid off and reached inside. Taking a small yellow candy, he put it in front of Ron's nose to smell.

"Lemon Drop," Dumbledore informed him. But, these were no ordinary Lemon Drops, no sir. These were _Dumbledore's_ Lemon Drops.

Ron's breathing calmed and he was relaxing more. Dumbledore tried to keep the young one talking so he would not be able to drift off again.

"They are very good, actually. Would you care for one?"

Ron gave the faintest of nods, and Albus put one into his hand. Ron popped it into his mouth weakly. After a few more moments, Ron finally spoke. "I can see why you like them." It was barely above a whisper, but Albus heard. Kimpson, on the other hand, leaned in closer to try to understand him. Ron, not noticing him until then, turned his head slowly to Kimpson. "Hey," he began in the same low, tired tone. "I thought you were supposed to be the sick one?"

Kimpson gave a tiny laugh and replied, "Couldn't take all the fun."

Ron smiled and took a good look at Kimpson and Dumbledore. The three of them seemed like they'd been friends for years, the way they were speaking with eachother. Sure, Ron had known Headmaster Dumbledore for five years, but he'd only known Kimpson for five **days**.

"Mr. Lovegood here told me of this small predicament with him being.. out of his normal year at Hogwarts. We'll have to get this all fixed up. I must ask you something else though, Ronald. Do you know the whereabouts of our Mister Longbottom?" Dumbledore asked him, an expression of concern upon his face.

Ron seemed hesitant for a moment, but then replied, "He's.. he's in the past.." Albus did not respond to this (though, he wasn't looking at the older wizard) so he continued. "I think he said he was in 1973 or 74 or something, I don't remember which year exactly, but that's where he ended up."

"You talked to him?" Albus questioned.

"Yes, but I only can when Merlin sends for us. Professor Snape and I were called there and when we got there, Neville was there. It's really strange.. the Vision Realm, I mean. We're all blue and see-through. Last time we saw him there, Neville was acting kind of.. well, not like himself. The way he walked- he was limping -something must have happened to him. We didn't get much time to talk before Merlin came, so I couldn't ask him about it." Ron finished with a glance at the Headmaster.

Albus sat there thinking of the war ahead, something he hated sometimes because of all the problems he came up with. Who knows who would win? With one last sigh, he rose from his seat and spoke to Ron.

"I shall call- Kimpson, would you please put this back on my desk?" Dumbledore cut himself off from saying 'the Order' just in time. Kimpson was his student, yes, but he still needed to be careful. Kimpson did as he was told and took the box. When he was out of sight, Albus continued. "I shall call an Order meeting and we can all discuss this.. these problems. You say Professor Snape knows of Merlin?" Albus finish somewhat annoyed. Why did Severus not tell him of this? Was he not trusted by the man?

"Yes, sir," Ron replied.

"Hmm, I need to have a talk with him, then." The Headmaster's reply was said in a tone similar to that of a parent wanting to scold their child- and certainly would the second they saw the kid. "I will be back soon, Ronald. Do not go to sleep, if you would. I would not find it a joy to find you dead in these chambers." That had to be the moment the Headmaster had sounded the most like Snape _ever. _It was said to scare the young Gryffendor into obeying, but it was not a lie in the least. Something, or someone, had done this- most likely an effect of being betrayed. It could be none other than (assuming that Ron was correct) Merlin himself. Having met the man before, Albus was having a hard time believing him to be a scheming, dark wizard. By hey, stranger things have happened.

Albus left the room in all his grace and sealed the entrance behind him. After about an hour, voices could be heard from the office. Ron had not fallen asleep for even a second, having heard very clearly what Dumbledore had said and, perhaps, been frightened by it. Had he done the right thing? Yes, you did.. You never do the right thing, you stupid-.. the ones in his head bickered daily, so Ron did not pay them much mind. What was interesting, however, were the people talking in the office. Ron sat up in the bed and strained to hear the conversation as best he could.

_"Severus, what I still can't see is why you did not tell me of this. Do you not trust me? Have I done something to prove Merlin's words? I need to know if you are on my side or his." Silence came for a few seconds after Dumbledore spoke, but eventually there came a reply._

_"There is but one person I trust.." the Potions master's dark voice told his once-professor. Ron could almost imagine Dumbledore waiting for the rest of that sentence, agony to the old wizard's soul. Had he really gotten through to the Potions master all those years ago? At this point in time, he really couldn't tell. With a deep breath, and a smirk, Snape concluded, "..Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts."_

_With a sigh of relief, Dumbledore replied, "Thank you, Severus."_

Voices could still be heard, but now they were too low for Ron to understand. After another half of an hour, people were coming into the office of the Headmaster, all Order members. Without warning, the bookcase moved from the entrance and they all filed in. Not expecting this, Ron nearly jumped out of the bed and onto the floor.

"Bloody hell," Ron muttered, acting more like himself than he had in days.

Chairs appeared out of nowhere, members sitting in a large circle around the room. Dumbledore came up to Ron and said, "Join us, Mr. Weasley." He motioned towards a chair right by his bed and Ron slipped out and sat. He was going to be at an Order meeting? This was turning out to be a very weird day- no, days.

Ron hardly said a word, just listened to the exchanging of information. The only Order members that were present were those in Hogwarts or Hogsmeade. Actually, that was quite a lot. Fifteen people, Albus and Ron along with a certain cat who refused to leave were all jammed into this small space. It did anything but make the mood bright. Left and right people were arguing, mostly Snape and Remus Lupin. Ron wasn't sure why their old DADA teacher had been at Hogwarts. Perhaps he was just there for a visit, but who knew. Their DADA teacher this year was most likely Lockheart's relation- he sure acted like it! What an idiot, Ron thought. He wondered if there was even a chance that their new Defense professor, Professor Zudan, had even been to a school when he was young. The man practically quoted every word he said in class from a book. Now here's a person who needed a pet.

The members of the Order were now yelling at one another, and a voice inside Ron's head begged him to stop it all. This is getting us nowhere.. Oh shut up, they can go cursing eachother for all it matters.. now the fighting was going on inside and around Ron, and he was starting to get a bit dizzy. Try to imagine five people talking in each ear, and then five more yelling at you behind them, all combined with rock music playing in the background. It did not improve one's ability to think clearly. He could stand it no longer!

Ron stood up in anger and walked to the middle of the circle.

"He's after us," he stated rather loudly, getting the attention of every person. "He is trying to destroy us all and this school by tricking us into believing the people around are on the Dark Side. We can't let him do that! Who agrees?"

More than one hand raised, both Remus and Albus surprised at him. Ron sighed, glad to have gotten through. His happiness was short-lived though, as just then, a buzzing filled the room.. a very familiar buzzing indeed... Not now!

"Professor!" Ron said in a panicked voice, turning to Snape.

"Sweet **_Merlin_**, here we go again," Severus muttered under his breath. He'd just gotten tortured by the Dark Lord not two days ago (and his eyes still had a red covering, but disillusioned from view) and now he was about to go see another powerful wizard who cared just about as much as Voldemort about his ailments. What a perfect week this was for him!

After a second, both Ron's and Snape's eyes were on Dumbledore- as they had been the first time- looking straight through him, it seemed. The Headmaster pretended to be calm, which did appear true on the outside, but Albus wanted nothing more than to just leave and get the attention off himself. He was granted his wish when both of his students, former and present, snapped back into reality.

For a brief moment Ron looked dazed but came to his senses and jumped to his feet. He was nearly at the entrance when someone called from behind him.

"Weasley, get back here," the Potions master ordered, but the tone of voice was a little lacking in the venom department.

Ron turned back and looked at him as if he were crazy. With one push, the bookcase was moved aside and Ron ran out of the guest room and then out of the office.

Severus Snape stood swiftly and followed after him (walking, not running), though he did so only because the Headmaster asked him what was the matter. He did not feel like sharing in front of a crowd, especially one that had Remus Lupin in it.

All eyes turned on Dumbledore when the two were gone, as if asking silently 'what was that all about?'. Albus had no answers for them, so he too stood and walked out of the guest room.

Perhaps he _was_ too old for this.

_**-**_

**A/N:**

**Ron's weird behavior:** Yea, I know- he's not like he usually is, but he'll get over it after this meeting with Merlin. The voices are really screwing up his normalness.. is that a word?

**Dumbledore calling Ron by his first name:** Albus thinks that Ron was.. hmm.. shall I say 'brave' for telling him about Merlin. He has respect for people who look out for him. Though, when around other adults, he still calls him 'Mr. Weasley'. Sound good?

**Kimpson's last name:** Well, if you've forgotten it already, why should I bother putting a note about it? I've planned him being who he is since the beginning. I thought about waiting till later to tell, but it didn't matter, cuz Ron didn't notice, did he? You notised though, right?

**DADA this year:** Oh COME ON! Please tell me you saw his name and went 'Uhh ohh' or at least 'Ohh!'! Sheesh, do I write for nothing! ;-)

**Dumbledore (in general): **He's getting old, isn't he? Don't be surprised if he dies at the END. That's still a while comin', but he might not make it.. or am I just taunting you? Hehehee...

**Ron being 'sick':** Yep, it was little ol' Merlin who did that. Well, it was supposed to happen if he was betrayed, but he doesn't know if it happens. He just figured that the person who got sick would die anyways. He sure is confident of himself, isn't he? Remind you of someone? HINT! HINT! Cough-"Hey, I didn't learn joined up writing for nothing you know!"-Cough.

**Kimpson getting hurt:** It was the same person as the one who took Filch that cursed Kimpson. The effects wore off though. Or did they? Why don't we go ask Luna sometime, shall we?

**_Lack of action:_** I do agree with you if you thought this chapter needed more action, but I did try to make it longer so that it was better. I sure have some action planned very soon. Remember the Gryffindor thing with Voldemort? Also, everything is coming to a point, and now we learn who was lying and who was good all along! Who can make it out alive in a meeting with Merlin, Albus, Zudan, Neville, Ron, Snape, Harry, Hermione, Rotiart, Esor, Vix, Lupin and who knows who else! It will be fun...

_**-**_

Next chapter: "Seeing Green"

_All around was just never-ending green. The green was beginning to remind him of a certain curse.. an Unforgivable Curse. _

_'This can't be good. Green is never good... But wait.. Lily's eyes are green too, and Harry's.. Should I be scared or not? Geez, now even this is getting confusing!'  
_

_Neville waited for a few more seconds in anticipation, wondering what to expect. The image appeared instantly, and Neville jumped in surprise at seeing who it was. This wasn't going to end well, he knew it. The Vision Realm had a nasty habit of showing him depressing and frightening images._

_"Neville. NEVILLE." _

_Neville looked around at the empty green, panting. _

_"Who are you and what-do-you-want?" He yelled out._


	18. Seeing Green

**A/N May 20, 2005:** Well, here goes another chapter I've been working on since January. I hope you like it!  
**Also**, remember that "_Bivorio_" means "_The Boy-Who-Lived_". Oh, and the story is no longer going to be stuck in the center of the page. I'm working on revising and redoing the earlier chapters. I've fiddled with chapters 1-3 already, so go ahead and take a look!

This chapter is in the Vision Realm, as will be the next one. We'll see just how good Neville is at lying!  
**  
DarkLordLongbottom:** Reviewer's response in my profile page.

_**Turning Your Time Around  
**__**By: Cheelalaucha  
**_**_  
Chapter dedicated to: The Velvet Ghost, whose 3rd story in the "Harry Potter and the Phoenix's Flight" series will be coming out! You've got to read it if you have read the first two!_**

_**Chapter 18: "Seeing Green"

* * *

**_

Again the black. Neville was really getting tired of going to the Vision Realm. Every time he traveled here, he'd see bad things. Well, not _all_ of the things he saw were bad - he had seen his dad propose to his mother - but there were also images of people getting cursed by Death Eaters.

Nothing had appeared yet, and not being able to see anything was starting to make him nervous. Neville swayed on his feet, and tried to think of... happy things. That was hard to do, but he did manage to find something. He mentally ran through every magical plant he knew of and told himself its properties. That was a small bit comforting, but he still was sensing something coming. Neville was just about to repeat the color, size, location etc. of the Toxim Tree when, suddenly, the black started to fade into dark green, and then to light green.

That had never happened before, and now Neville's mind was screaming at him to turn and run somewhere - anywhere, but he didn't move a muscle. On the plus side, Neville comforted himself, he could see around where he was. Being able to see around him wasn't of much use to him though since there was nothing to be seen. His surroundings were just that of never-ending green. That color was beginning to remind him of a certain curse.. an Unforgivable Curse.

_This can't be good. Green is never good... _

Neville got a curious look upon his face as he remembered something.

_But wait.. Lily's eyes are green too, and Harry's... Should I be scared or not? Geez, now even this is getting confusing!  
_

Neville waited for a few more seconds in anticipation, wondering what to expect. An image faded in before him, and Neville jumped in surprise at seeing who it was. With wide eyes, he took his great calming breaths. This wasn't going to end well, he knew that for sure. The Vision Realm had a nasty habit of showing him depressing and frightening images. He could only hope that he wasn't going to see that night when there had become a Bivorio. Neville gulped and tried his best to keep the calming breaths coming one after the other.

There was Lily Evans. But, this wasn't the Lily that Neville had seen the past few days. This Lily was older and had a bundle in her arms. For a moment Neville wondered what it was, but soon realized when tiny fingers moved around in the blanket. That small hand belonged to her son Harry. The smile on her face was wide and her_ green _eyes beamed with the happiness she was feeling. It nearly made Neville jump at the picture when her expression changed to a horror-filled one.

A man, undoubtedly James, ran into the room. Lily lept up from the chair she was sitting in, still clutching her child in her arms.

She was talking quickly to James, but, as it had always been, Neville couldn't hear a word. The terror that was passing through Neville seemed to be equal in the Potters. Something was going to happen, and Neville did _not_ want to see it. Sometimes, when younger Lily had been in classes, he'd wish he could change her fate. But, even though Neville knew how, and had the means to make his dreams come true, he would not. It would not due to have the entire world destroyed by Voldemort, as he was sure it would had he been the Bivorio. Neville had come to the conclusion that no matter how much he wanted to stop it, he had to let the green light pass through their bodies and do nothing to prevent the life being drawn from them. Sometimes, more often than not, what was morally right was the most difficult. Was he a quitter? _No._ Was he going to let the world fall apart because of him, the weak little Longbottom? _Not a chance on earth._ So there he had it, every reason to not interfere with the future. It all made perfect sense! But... he would never forgive himself for just letting it happen, no matter how right it was. Years from now, he'd regret it all and want nothing more than to go back and change the one event that depended on his - and the world's - dismal existence.

In front of him, the two were standing in the corner of a baby boy's bedroom with wands drawn. James had one arm around Lily, who in turn had one around her son. They were speaking to eachother hurriedly. James was probably comforting Lily, telling her everything would be all right. Lily would say he loved her husband, and James would reply the same. Neville stood there watching their last moments alive right in front of his eyes. Very few would ever get to see this, and even less would want to. The suspense was building, but still nothing apart from talking, crying, and waiting was going on. How long did they have to stand there!

_Just get it over with!_ Neville found himself thinking, but not out of cruelty, out of worry for the two. He could only imagine how they must be feeling, but Neville was sure he was about to have a heart attack from just waiting for the inevitable to happen. After another minute of nothing but watching, he could stand it no longer. Neville ran forward at the image and tried desperately to brake it by pounding through with his fists, the fury in him growing.

He looked rather silly to say the least, but he cared nothing of how he looked. Right then, a puff of green smoke came from the "floor" that he was standing on and obscured his vision of the Potter family. When it cleared, he sighed with relief. The image of them was gone.

"Neville. _Neville_."

Neville looked around at the empty green, panting.

"Who are you and **what-do-you-want**?" He yelled out. Only silence followed his words. "Show yourself!... Or ar- are you t- too scared?" Neville added the last sentence with uneasiness. He may have gained some confidence, but he was still Neville and he really didn't want to end up fighting anything- or anyone. He was too convinced he'd lose if he ever needed to fight, despite the night of the DoM where he'd helped his friends fight off Death Eaters. Right now, even a tiny bug had more confidence then Neville did.

"Neville, use your mind. Don't let it control you," the calm voice rang out.

Before Neville could respond to him, he found himself falling. He hated this part...

**_-_**

In a few seconds, he was standing in the middle of a field of tiny purple flowers.

When he looked around for the others, he saw Snape eyeing the surroundings with disgust. Neville's appearance brought Snape's attention to him, and he looked up from the flowers with his normal angry expression. His eyes caught Neville off guard, he could feel the already low level of confidence he had decreasing under Snape's overpowering glare. Neville turned his head away from the Potions Master and searched for Ron. But, he knew Snape was still watching him.

Ron's voice came from behind him. "That git! That absolute **git**!"

Ron was shaking his head and looking furious. For a moment, Neville thought Snape was going to say something about Ron's language, but surprisingly he didn't seem to notice. Or, perhaps, he chose not to.

Ron walked up to Neville and Snape, but he still was shaking his head slightly.

"What's wrong?" Neville asked him, hoping his own anger was not showing through his tone.

Ron sighed looked up at him. "Nothing. It's just.. the things this place makes you see. I hate it."

"Huh." Neville looked down. "I know _exactly_ what you mean." It was Neville's turn to sigh, but he didn't lighten up his face like Ron had after letting a long breath out. If anything, he looked angrier.

"What did you see?" Ron asked curiously.

Neville's face turned from anger to sadness as he said, "I don't want to talk about it."

Ron lowered his eyebrows slightly in concern and looked up at Snape. The professor though, was looking at Neville. He too had some curiosity lingering in his eyes, but quickly regained his menacing tone and spoke.

"Mister Longbottom, do try and contain your sorrows. You're depressing to watch."

Ron felt like punching Snape in the face, but the appearance of Merlin brought everyone's attention elsewhere. Merlin didn't even notice the hard glares he was getting from the other three.

"Hello. How'd you like my choice of location?" Merlin glanced over at Snape and gave a tiny smile, then looked over at Neville. "Longbottom number two, how's you're task coming along?"

Neville gave a small huff. No matter what he suspected of the man, he had to act calm and pretend he knew nothing of the fact that this guy was the enemy.

"Badly. She won't even look at him. Heck, she won't look at _me_ either." Neville didn't have to specify the person, Merlin knew exactly who the 'she' was.

"Who?" Ron asked, looking from Neville to Merlin.

Neville glanced at Merlin who shook his head once. "Just.. someone..."

Ron looked slightly put-out. He'd figured that Neville would tell him no matter what. Weren't they friends? His head snapped up when Merlin spoke to him.

"How about you?" Merlin asked in the 'half caring voice' they'd all become accustomed to from the last meeting.

"Kimpson says he's bored and he can't go to classes or come to meals. He needs something to do," Ron replied casually, wondering in his mind if the lie was convincing enough.

"Hum." Merlin paused to make it seem he was thinking. He grinned and looked at the Potions master. "Well, why not help Snape?"

Ron and Neville both looked over to Professor Snape. He was giving Merlin his death glare. It was no secret that Merlin didn't like Snape, and they knew how much he loved to make him angry.

"The boy would only get in my way," Snape growled.

Merlin raised an eyebrow and strode over to the professor. "Do you only think of yourself? He _is_ going to help you, no matter what either of you think. Got it? Well?"

Severus could not let on anything that would make Merlin suspect him. If he did, who knows what might happen. Now, where had he done this before? "Fine." Snape's lip curled in the all-too-familiar way.

"Good. Now, let's use this time for some relaxing," Merlin said in more of a demand than a question.

He raised his staff and four giant pillows (one red, one purple, one dark blue, and another green) appeared on the ground, arranged in a large circle.

When nobody moved, Merlin yelled for them to sit. The all did, surprisingly, considering how irritated Snape looked.

Neville made sure he wasn't anywhere near the green. Professor Snape took that one, and Ron took the red. Merlin, of course, sat upon the purple one. He always seemed to chose purple for everything. Odd.

Out of nowhere, three goblets appeared, floating before them in mid air.

"Well?" Merlin began. "Drink up!" the famous wizard ordered them.

They each grabbed one, and Snape (unnoticed by Merlin) gave the contents a quick sniff. He knew immediately that the liquid had been tampered with. There was a faint sent of ingredients one would put in a Forgetfulness Potion. So maybe Merlin did suspect them too.

Severus cleared his throat and said, "This reminds me of something that useless Weasley mother made at a dinner party." He hoped the young Weasley had heard him.

Ron stopped with the goblet an inch from his lips, as did Neville who had wide eyes from shock.

"What did you just say?" Ron inquired in a deadly tone. He'd taken the bait Severus had laid out without even thinking, though he didn't know he was purposely being tricked into getting angry. But, Ron was more than angry now.

Both Ron and Neville dropped their goblets; Ron because he'd launched himself at Snape, and Neville because he'd tried to hold him back. Ron struggled against Neville, and even tried to elbow him, but Neville had gotten out of the way just in time.

Neville glanced over at Merlin for a second to see if he was even going to break up the whole thing, and he saw a touch of a smile and a strange glitter in his eyes. Neville turned his head back quickly, hoping Merlin had not seen him looking at him. After dodging another elbow, Neville whispered into Ron's ear.

"He messed with the drinks."

Ron instantly stopped struggling and turned around in surprise and curiosity. Had he just heard what he'd thought he'd heard?

"What did you say?" Ron asked, this time to Neville.

Neville would not dare repeat his words now that he had the attention of them all. So, he replied calmly, "You heard me."

"No, please Neville," Merlin interrupted. "What did you say?"

Neville wasn't sure if Merlin had heard him before, so he took a chance and lied. "I said 'Harry wouldn't want you getting expelled'."

Merlin looked over at Ron, as if he was asking for confirmation. Ron put on a glum face and nodded. "I'm sorry," Ron mumbled to Snape, not meaning a word of it.

"I will let it go this time, but don't think this will happen again. Consider yourself lucky," Snape replied warningly, following along with their story.

"Yes sir." Ron took another look at Neville, and wondered if he was aware of Merlin's deceit. But, he had enough sense not to ask out right that question.

Meanwhile, Neville was giving himself a mental pat on the back. He'd just lied successfully for the first time in his life! Oh yes, he was getting better at lying, now he might be able to join Harry's little group of friends. It was the thought of how pathetic he sounded that kept him from smiling in joy. He was happy to have just lied because he wanted friends? Who was he, and where had they taken the normal Neville?

"Well, I see the good mood is ruined. You might as well return to the castle," Merlin said as he got up from his pillow.

"Good," Ron said from behind Neville. "I've got loads of Transfiguration homework."

Merlin turned around to look at him with a smile on his face. "Oh no, you misunderstood me." His smile grew brighter. "We must all return to _my_ castle."

Ron, Neville, and Snape all stopped dead in their tracks. The last place you wanted to be was in your enemy's stronghold, and Merlin was no friend of theirs.

"Come on, don't want to miss dinner!" Merlin said happily, beckoning them forward.

After a second of just standing still, the three blue, see-through wizards reluctantly followed Merlin, each wondering how they were going to make it out of **this** tight spot.

* * *

**A/N:** So, was it a good/bad read? Tell me! I did post a beginning to a Filch/Dudley story, I'll prolly finish it even if no one reviews cuz I want to get the plot out of my head! Grr.. it's eating my brain! Ok, some answers now...  
**Neville knowing about the drink:** Did you happen to realize Neville knew there was something strange with the stuff in the goblet? Ah ha! Neville is not stupid and actually did try to do good in Potions class since his first year, but Snape was ana--and was always scaring him too much to think clearly. That has seemed to have worn off, has it not? So, now he's more aware of what's around him. Also, once you've had a Forgetfulness Potion, you never **forget** it's smell. That's one of the side-effects, I'm afraid. hint hint- Neville would have to have had it before. Guess when!  
**Merlin, friend or foe:** If you haven't guessed yet, you should have your temperature taken.  
**Why Snape insulted Ron's mum:** Snape did that because he wantd Ron to get so angry that he'd forget about the drink. I'm not implying that he didn't enjoy saying it, but there was a reason. It worked, did it not?  
**The voice that talks to Neville in the Vision Realm:** HELLO! Didn't ANY of that seem familiar? I sure hope so because you already know who the person speaking to Neville is.  
**Why are they blue:** Remember- in the Vision Realm, they are blue & see-through!  
**The three in the castle:** Do you think they'll make it out? No one is still totally sure if the other suspects them, it will be fun. They are trapped in a place where the walls have ears, so is there any way they can exchange info? There is a friend in the castle, that's all I'm going to say.

Any questions? Ask me now by pressing "Review"! Thanks!

_Next chapter: "Merlin's March"_


	19. Merlin's March

**A/N May 27, 2005:** "Back _again_, reader?" Dumbledore aproaches slowly as the reader backs away.

Voldemort pops in next to Dumbledore and laughs at the terrified reader. "There are no long and short chapters, there is only reading. Join me!"

The sorting hat cannot stand staying quiet any longer. "You could be happy, you know. It's all here in the story, and reading it will help you on the way to happiness. There's not doubt about that. No? Well, if you're sure..."

Well, after spending last Saturday writing a chapter where somebody dies (you'll never guess who, so don't even try), I've been able to find the time this weekend to write this chapter. No deaths this week, but who knows about the next one, or the one after that. Enjoy.

**DarkLordLongbottom:** Reviewer's response in my profile page.

_**Turning Your Time Around  
**__**By: Cheelalaucha**_

_**Chapter dedicated to: Every single person who has been involved in a war for liberty & justice.**_

_**Chapter 19: "Merlin's March"

* * *

**_

After a second of just standing still, the three blue, see-through wizards reluctantly followed Merlin, each wondering how they were going to make it out of **this** tight spot.

The grass crumpled under their feet as they walked to the old castle. The sun was up and shining brightly but only one person in the group was happy about it. What were they supposed to do now? Neville tried his best to think everything through in his mind.

_Okay. Merlin's the bad guy. Nobody knows what Dumbledore is. Ron's acting strange and he knew to follow along with the fake story. Snape's just as nasty as ever, but he did warn us, sort of. That just leaves me then. I'm stuck in the past, going crazy, sleeping for days on end, and I'm a blue ghost-thing in some far out realm with a weirdo. Well, at least there's no Potions classes here._

With a sigh Neville lifted his head to see the giant gardens surrounding the front of the castle. There were magical plants all grouped together by color. Nearly every color group was arranged into the shape of pointy hearts. That was fairly interesting and was able to keep Neville from dwelling on the present situation he and two others were placed in.

On his left, Ron watched his fellow Gryffindor out of the corner of his eye. There were some differences, of course, but the longer hair was only one of them. The way Neville'd been talking earlier, it seemed as if he was less shy, and the common stuttering he used to have was just about completely gone. What was really puzzling him though was the fact that Neville had lied to Merlin about those drinks they'd so _kindly_ been offered. Since when could Neville Longbottom tell a lie? The thought was almost enough to make him laugh, but he realized with a surge of weariness that this was no laughing matter. Wow, where had that smart-sounding thought come from? Maybe he was changing too. Or, perhaps, he was just spending too much time with Hermione. Yeah, that was it.

Severus Snape walked behind the others, his eyes darting from one moving thing to another as he watched for any sign of movement. They'd nearly been potioned earlier, he wasn't about to let something like that happen again. His eyes were alert, but his brain was working on other things slowly and carefully. There was something going on with the Longbottom child. Snape was ready to bet his life on the fact that Neville knew what was in Merlin's food offering, and that was something he never thought he'd live to do.

Just before the Weasley tried to get at him, Severus had seen the boy give his own drink a quick study. The boy must have known what was placed with the beverage because he did not drink it when he could have. It did make sense, Snape supposed, since the Gryffindor had been forced to drink it in one of his detentions as a punishment for exploding another cauldron. The memory and taste would have no doubt left his brain from those times, for Snape was sure the child had been scared out of his wits when he (Snape) had told him to "Get rid of the mess without cleaning it up." He and few did know that there had been one other occasion in which Longbottom was made to drink the foul liquid, but Severus was not about to remember _those_ days again. Not a chance in all the Vision Realm did he want one thought from those times.

As all four of the people reached the entrance to the castle, Merlin stopped and held out a hand. He raised his staff and made a small waving motion in front of his face. At once the group disappeared behind the gray walls.

Without feeling a thing, they popped into a large empty room with only one window in the far right wall. The place was lit brightly but did not come off as very inviting to any of them. Of course, it could be the fact that they were in their enemy's castle that brought their spirits down. None of them seemed to notice that they were no longer see-through.

"Well, I shall leave you all to chat. Dinner will done cooking in a few minutes, and when it is I will call for someone to bring you along." With a tiny wave, Merlin departed through the door.

Ron turned to Neville to ask what he truly thought of Merlin, but was stopped short by the frightened expression his friend had. "What's wrong?" he asked.

Neville walked quickly to the window and peered outside, but he didn't stay there for long. Neville examined the whole room carefully as he ran his hands over the stone. It had to be here somewhere, he was sure this was the exact room. The description from Rotiart matched exactly! So where the heck was the stupid hatch! Before he could look any further, there was a light knock on the door. Without waiting for a response, the person on the other side came through and shut the door behind themselves. Neville spun around to face the person, expecting it to be Merlin again. His jaw dropped when he saw who it really was.

"Esor!" Neville yelled in surprise.

The woman in the red dress ran over to him and gave him a tight hug which they staid in for several moments. Esor held him at arm's length to look over him for injuries. She sighed in relief and gave him another hug.

"I'm so glad you're alright, I thought he'd kill you!" At Neville's perplexed expression, she continued. "He tried to make you forget everything, did he not?" Neville nodded. "He knows, Neville. You've got to get out of here!"

"Would somebody please tell me what in the name of.. **_whatever_** is going on!" Ron yelled in exasperation. That was just the thing Snape wanted to know aswell.

"No time. We've-" Neville was cut short by the door creaking open slowly. It was an eerie kind of noise that seemed to seal the fate of them all. There was not a person in that room who didn't at least want to shiver at the sound.

Merlin wandered in from outside the room and glanced around at them all with a face that shown a mixture of happiness and irritation. There was not a doubt in anyone's mind that this guy was out to get them, but still, no one moved the slightest. Merlin cleared his throat and said, "I do believe dinner is being served. Esor, I thought you were here to tell them that." Merlin watched her as she made a little bow and apologized. Merlin replied that she was forgiven and looked for a new someone to question. His eyes stopped on Neville. "Longbottom number two, please come with me for moment." The sentence was said gently but made no mistake in making the younger one afraid.

Neville walked behind Merlin outside the door and heard it snap shut. Merlin gave him, what seemed like, a warm smile. But, it faded quickly into one of anger. "What have you been saying about me, Nelvermanst Brooker Longbottom?"

Neville stiffened and actually glared at the wizard before him. No one, but no one called him Nelvermanst. "That is not my name," he told Merlin defiantly. Okay, so it was, but it was a family name - how was he supposed to change it!

"Oh I believe it is," Merlin returned with a step forward. Neville backed up a small bit, but his glare staid put.

"It would do well to trust me. Now, bring out your friends and we will have supper. Now. Oh, and be careful boy. The walls have ears, you know." Merlin walked off down the hall to the right and Neville took a second to curse the man's name and then slammed the door open to see its occupants. Without even an apology for startling them, Neville growled, "Dinner. Now." He turned and followed the way Merlin had gone.

In his own mind he smiled at his newly acquired acting skills and promised himself that he would consider being an entertaining wizard. Naw, that wasn't his lifestyle.. was it?

_No._

Neville reassured himself. Oh well, he'd considered it.

_**-**_

All were seated in the nicely decorated dinning hall. Each person had thoughts running rampant in their minds but none spoke. There were plates of food before them, and each one was loaded to the point of a spill-over onto the table. The five people eating (Merlin, Esor, Neville, Ron, Snape) were sitting still, some chewing food they hoped was not potioned.

"I take it you have come up with a way to get Longbottom number two back to his rightful year?" Merlin queried.

"Yes," Snape snapped in reply. Glancing over at Neville, Snape saw that he was being stared at by the Gryffindor. "Surprised, Mr. Longbottom?" he sneered.

A question that might have frightened him before no longer would. Nope, not scary at all, not even the slightest. Snape was watching him with a very fierce glare, but the boy didn't move except to blink boredly back at him. With a huff, Snape returned to his meal. Merlin took the long silence as his chance to earn back some trust.

"So," Merlin began with a smile at Neville. "Have you made any new friends?"

Neville resisted the urge to look over at Esor and replied flatly, "No."

"Hm, I see. It's alright to talk to some people, you know," Merlin told him helpfully.

"I'm afraid that I will change things, and if something important is altered, who knows what may happen to our future selves." That had to be the most intelligent sentence Neville had ever spoke, and two certain people definitely noticed it.

Merlin laughed and said, "Yes, you are right. After all, you never know what people remember. If you made friends with someone who turns out to be an enemy in the future, they might think you on their side. But I'll tell you one thing, no matter what side you're on: The side you chose is the side you stay with."

No one knew at that moment how true his words were; not the bits about choosing sides, but what he said about people remembering. Some do not think clearly about consequences to actions whether they be good or bad. Voldemort might be one of those people. It was possible Albus Dumbledore was one of those people. But, it would be justified by countless wizards and witches to come that Neville Longbottom **is** one of those people.

All but one other choked on their food not three seconds after the last statement was made by Merlin, and that was only because Snape had enough sense to not give himself away so easily. He pretended to be as unknowing as Merlin.  
As for everyone else, they just stared in shock at Merlin. All of them had heard that one line before. Ron and Snape recalled it from Hogwarts' Defense professor who said it nearly every day. Esor knew it from a specific madman that was trying to get a hold on Neville. And Neville himself knew the phrase from the warning Esor had given him days before. Could this just be a coincidence? Yeah right, and maybe Percy Weasley will come home for Christmas.

"What?" Merlin asked the group with an eyebrow raised.

_Oh darn, what do I do? Keep coughing- draw the attention to yourself and then everyone forgets. Good idea, okay heretgoes._

Neville put a hand over his mouth and kept up the coughing fit, which in turn made the blond-haired woman get up from her seat and pat him on the back. For another minute, he continued, but finally stopped since it wouldn't be convincing if he was still gagging two hours from now.

"Are you alright dear boy?" Merlin asked him in a concerned tone, and also came over.

"I think-I need-to lay-down," Neville replied between gasps of breath, standing shakily from his seat.

"Here." Merlin offered him his hand and helped him walk to the door. When they were out of the room, Merlin asked, "Did I do something wrong in there?"

Neville shook his head as an answer but kept his gaze down at the stone they walked upon. Neville followed Merlin for what seemed like a much longer distance than it had been to get to dinner. In fact, the halls were nothing like he remembered (but you know Neville). The faint sound of music playing reached his ears and he looked up to find they had wondered into a large room with a huge bed in the far corner.

The purple coverings of the bed were puffy and soft to the touch as he climbed in, as Merlin had told him to do. The tune of then music was very familiar, though Neville could not figure out where from.

"What is that? I know I've heard it before." Neville asked as Merlin sat down on the bed.

"The music?" At Neville's nod, he smiled. "That is something I do not tell very many, but I guess it's fine if you know." Merlin made himself comfortable on the bedside and began his story. "A while back, when I was still young, I was searching for a way to block out unwanted people from my home. I wasn't having much luck, and I'd nearly given up hope when a young wizard asked me if I need an assistant in my research. I agreed but only because the dratted boy would not leave me alone. Well, in less than a month, we came up with a way to fully block who and what I did not want in my castle. I introduced this boy to my friends and he gradually became more popular here.

"He offered to help me in anything else I wanted to experiment with. We continued, success after success, month after month, year after year. That boy was in my company from noon 'till night. We talked, experimented, and played chess together all the time. As a Christmas present he wrote me a poem, _Merlin's March_. I told him he needed to put it to music and together that's what we did. That was the most fun I've ever had with that wizard. The song was heard by my friends and someone leaked it into Wizarding England. Soon, it was being sang everywhere. That died down eventually but I never stopped playing it in my home." Merlin finished with a smile. That smile turned into a frown when Neville asked his next question.

"What happened to him? The wizard, I mean."

Merlin sighed and replied, "One of our experiments went totally wrong. By this time, it had been seven years and that young wizard I knew was now twenty. We needed to test a potion that was meant to calm people, and he volunteered. I should not have let him." Merlin looked away to the plain wall and sighed. He went on, though. "It did just the opposite of what we expected. After he took the potion he became extremely jumpy and frantic to get out of the castle - said it was too small and he couldn't breathe properly. That alone was very alarming but I could not even prepare myself for what happened afterwards."

Neville, not wanting Merlin to get upset, just sat and waited for him to continue. He did after a long while, but not being upset was a lost cause.

"He went to his parent's home the next day and murdered them in their sleep. I found him there and I... sent him away where he could not harm anyone else. I've never forgiven myself for letting him test that potion." After that, Merlin went quiet and Neville found it might be time to speak up.

"I'm sorry," Neville murmured.

"It's not your fault," Merlin replied bitterly.

"It's not yours either," Neville returned honestly.

Merlin gave a disbelieving huff and said, "It was my fault and mine alone. I should have taken it- I was the older and wiser and it is my duty to protect those around me." Through the course of his words, he gradually increased the volume of his voice, and had turned to see Neville again.

Pushing himself into a sitting position, Neville had a determined look on his face. When he spoke, his voice did the same as Merlin's had done (went up). "Did you know what would have happened if you had gone mad instead of him? You'dve killed him and then you both would be dead! I wouldn't be talking to you now if you'd taken that stupid potion! And believe me, _I_ would have lost my mind if I didn't know what to do back at Hogwarts!"

Merlin stared at him very intently, studying his face, and apparently, his words also. He stood up and said in a hard tone, "Get some rest. I'll tell the others not to worry." With that, he took his leave of Neville and the room.

Neville relaxed down into the pillow once more and closed his eyes. He was not sure if he should be comforted or creeped out by the music playing, but Neville did fall asleep soon after.

_**-**_

Neville could hear someone in the distance calling his name but he did not want to respond. He turned over on his side and gave a groan when his back twinged with pain. Oh wonderful, his back was hurting again. That was all he needed. Again he was called, and _again_ he ignored it.

"Go away," Neville grumbled and brought the blanket over his head. But, as he did so, he realized that it was not the same. This blanket was flat and scratchy. It almost was the same as the ones in the...

Neville opened his eyes at once and sat bolt upright in the bed.

...Hospital Wing of Hogwarts.

"Neville!" someone yelled in surprise.

Looking to his left, Neville saw Lily, who smiled.

"Are yeh alrigh' there Nev?" a gruff voice asked from his other side. Neville looked to his other side. The younger Hagrid was standing, high and mighty, gazing down at him with a kind expression. Instead of answering, Neville threw off the coverings and got up from the bed. He walked as fast as he could to Esor's painting, Lily and Hagrid following close behind.

"Neville, what's going on?" Lily asked him, though he did not respond.

"Neville!" Esor yelled when he reached her painting. She stood and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Esor, what happened? One minute-"

She cut him off. "I know, now look, you've got to listen to me. Go to the second floor, stand directly in front of the painting of the three crows, cast a containment spell, and wait for the portal to come." As she was talking, she was gazing upward and counting everything off as she said it. Neville stood there for only a second longer to try and figure out what in all the world was going on. "Whew, got it all. Well? Go! **Don't just stand there**!"

Neville jumped in surprise but went to do what he was told. Again the others followed, but not one of them knew what was happening.

Neville's last thought in the 1974 Hogwarts Hospital Wing was:

_She yelled at me!_

_**-

* * *

**_

**A/N:** I came across something I think needs to be clarified. Both Snape and Ron know of Merlin bein' a bad guy; Ron mostly because he doesn't think the Headmaster is against them (as Merlin claimed). He trusts Dumbledore a lot more now after that little "crying session". I don't know if that was messing with anyone's brain, but it was with mine.

And now, if you thought Merlin was the bad guy, I've put some doubts in your head (he was bein' a good little Merlin talking to Nev)! Hum, he could be either good or bad, good & bad, or just somewhere in the middle.

Oh, and if you thought Merlin's assistant was Lily's dad, I'm sorry to disappoint: he's not. If you have no idea why I might have just said that, go back and read chapter 3 where I first mentioned the song! Sheeze... Mhhmm... can I get a review? Was something wrong in the chapter? Was there something you didn't expect? Did you hate the middle name I chose for Nev? Were you confused? Did you not notice this was probably one of Nev's last days in 1974? Did you think he might not make it back at all? Did you know that I came up with the cliffhanger for the end of the story?

* * *

**A tiny preview of an upcoming chapter (not the next one, sorry; the next one will be great, though!)...**

_Several of the girls gasped and most of the guys looked about ready to murder the man (even more-so then before). Neville coughed and rubbed his neck, raising from the floor slowly. Now that had hurt a bit! Should he continue? Well, he was this far - he mind as well. He risked another sentence. "What happened to her?"_

_"None of your business!" the other retorted loudly._


	20. Lost and Found, Part 1

**A/NJune 1, 2005:**

"Back _again_, Harry?" Dumbledore aproaches slowly as Harry backs away.

Voldemort pops in next to Dumbledore and laughs at the terrified boy. "There is no good and evil, there is only power! Join me and to gether we'll do extraordinary things!"

The sorting hat cannot stand staying quiet any longer. "You could be great, you know. It's all here in your head, and Slitherin will help you on the way to greatness, There's no doubt about that. No? Well, if you're sure...Better be... GRYFFINDOR!"

: Okay, when I say "Neville zapped out of the corridor" please do not think he's some sort of space alien! I didn't wan't to say he "popped out" because it's overly used! Grumble grumble... :  
:Yay! 20th chapter... I've got somethin' special today! Something _sweet _as _candy_ ;) :

**DarkLordLongbottom:** Reviewer's response in my profile page. Thank you for reading!

_**Turning Your Time Around**_

_**By: Cheelalaucha**_

_**Chapter dedicated to: Whomever is reading this.**_

_**Chapter 20: "Lost & Found Part One"

* * *

**_

_**Second floor, Hogwarts School 1974:**_

"What exactly are we doing?" Lily asked skeptically as they reached their destination.

The three crows cawed loudly and started flying all around in the gloomy weather they'd been placed in. Lily turned to Neville who was standing next to her. Neville didn't seem to understand what was going on either which in turn made her let out a great sigh.

Hagrid, who was standing by the closest window, seemed utterly bored at the moment. He had walked these corridors for more than a decade, and it was an understatement to say that he was tired of the same thing day after day. He had nothing to do! Try to imagine living at a place where you were not wanted day in and day out. People were not quick to forget something as bad as he'd been accused of in his school days. No, they were definitely not, as some seventh year Slitherin had taken the opportunity to remind him this morning. But, maybe there was hope for some fun yet. This Neville fellow was lightening up his mood and it was barely the middle of the day, so who knows what could happen next.

After the Neville fellow had mumbled something sounding like, "Not again." he went into some sort of trance. Hagrid tried, unsuccessfully, to snap him out of it. Hagrid eventually slumped back down to his rock and waited for something to happen. Five minutes passed, then ten, and then fifteen. Hagrid was about three seconds from leaving when the other boy just fell over face first into the grass. Hagrid tried again to wake him up but his poking and yelling didn't make any the difference.

He finally gave up and carried the strange kid to the Hospital Wing. The redheaded girl nearly lost her marbles when he brought Neville in, which would have been funny had not the young girl started crying. He grumbled and told her he'd be fine and said it was not worth worrying because he'd be fine. Girls, gee did they ever stop tearing up? They had stayed by his side until he woke up (not too long ago) and talked to a painting like a crazy person. Nobody has conversations with paintings, was he nuts? Paintings weren't people, they were just something to decorate with and they sometimes would not shut up.

Hagrid's opinions of paintings were that of most wizard's and witches in that age. Paintings were not people, they were decoration. By the time the Potters, Longbottoms, and the Thomas' had been killed, tortured and only Voldemort knows what else, things had changed dramatically. Some of the older families kept their thoughts of the past and still to this day don't care one wit about what they saw moving in the frames. But, many more in the Wizarding world believe that if it can think, talk and move, then it's worth giving respect to. That is, if the certain painted person/animal showed the same in return. Paintings tended to be the same as humans... there were good ones and evil ones. It would not be surprising to find out that there was a character painted who was as equally monstrous as Grindelwald or Voldemort or Zudan. Despite what wizards may think, there are worlds beyond their own.

A startled yelp made Hagrid forget about his thoughts and jump back into reality. "Wha'? Why yer yellin'?" he snapped at Neville who looked terribly frightened.

"It talked to me!" Neville breathed, waving his finger at the crows who continued to make noise.

"Wha'?" Hagrid asked, taking a step forward and examined the animals.

"I did no such thing!" the smallest of the three birds replied with a caw of amusement.

"See!" Neville waved his had more frantically at the painting.

Even though Lily was bit wide-eyed, she managed to get a question out. "What did it say?"

Neville kept his gaze on the three birds and tried to remember what they actually _had_ said. Just then, it came into his brain and realization hit him hard. "Move!" Neville yelled and shoved Lily sideways. He'd almost gotten out of rage, but his foot was not quick enough. A small dome formed around Neville, and he only just saw a minute later that he'd stopped in mid air and was hovering only a foot off the ground. Hagrid pulled Lilly (who was on the floor) away further, and made to get Neville too but was yelled at by one of the crows to stay were he was.

Fear and uncertainty was visible on all three of their faces; Lily was worried for her new found friend and vice versa, Hagrid was just plain confused. Maybe all of them should have stayed in bed this morning.

Lily got up from the floor of the cold corridor and tried to get to Neville, but Hagrid pulled her back. "Neville!" Lily yelled out to him but the Gryffindor did not respond. However, the boy looked up at the two who he considered almost friends now, and waved with a grateful smile. In an instant, Neville zapped out of the corridor, and out of 1974.

Now Hagrid was even more confused as he gawked at the place where there was a boy floating a second ago. Lily yelled out the Gryffindor's name, and then repeated it but by this time there was no sound coming from her mouth. She struggled less and less and finally just quit altogether. Hagrid turned her around to face him but he could not bring himself to remove his eyes from where that one friend had disappeared.

The girl was somewhat in a state of shock, I mean, after all, someone just went _Poof_ out of a place that you were not supposed to be able to go _Poof_ out of! It couldn't be a good thing, could it? No, her friend must have disintegrated or vaporized or - well he didn't just _POOF_! What in Merlin's name did _poof_ mean!

Hagrid tore his eyes away from that one spot only when the girl began scratching at his shirt. Lily was going on hysterical and it sure was obvious. Looking down at her he saw small tear trails on her cheeks, and parts of his ripped shirt in her fists. He kneeled down on his knee and the younger girl looked up. She was about to apologize for his shirt (or was going to try, considering how she was acting now) when the half-giant's arms wrapped her in a gentle hug. Oh no, she was going to cry again. This poor man had seen her cry earlier this morning, why did it have to happen again? She tried her best to hold it in but was unable to keep it from coming. She decided to have a nice, long cry into his ripped shirt.

_**-

* * *

**_

_**Who knows where, who knows when:**_

Neville felt his stomach do a flip inside his body but did not have time to think about it as he crash-landed on the hard dirt ground. Spitting up dirt, Neville got to his hands and knees. Something crunched under him as he tried to stand, and he wondered for a moment if it was glass. But, taking a closer look showed that it was just an ice cream cone - not that it seemed any less-weird to him. A tiny cough from behind him made him turn around so quickly, he nearly fell back over again.

A young boy (about six or seven) with short, very light brown hair had his head bowed in front of him in a way that made it seem as if he was being punished for something. "Erm, sir, could I have my ice cream cone back, please?" the boy asked nervously.

Neville took a look around and noticed he was in some place that resembled a desert, but with piles of soil, not sand. The kid and him were the only ones to be seen for miles in the daylight. Neville glanced down at the ice cream cone which he'd crushed and then back to the top of the boy's head. For a second he was unsure of what he should do, but then guessed the younger one would not like a dirt cone for a snack and reached into his pocket for something. Neville could only find his wand, but he dug deeper and then found what he was looking for. He pulled out one of the yellow wrapped candy he'd gotten from his grandmother the day he'd been sent back. Over the last few days he had eaten one and told himself that things were going to be fine. He wasn't sure if that was true, but it kept him going each day.

Holding out the candy in his hand, Neville spoke shyly and hoped the kid would except his offer. "How about you take this, it's much better than that little mess over there." When the boy didn't move, he tried again. "It's okay, really. They're good, try it. I'm sorry I broke your ice cream cone, I didn't mean to."

A small hand reached up and removed the candy from Neville's hand slowly. The boy still didn't look up, but replied, "It's alright, sir. It wasn't very good to begin with. My mother knows I don't like ice cream but she bought me some anyway." The young one's voice lacked emotion, sort of like the tone of someone who's lost and despairing. That brought new thoughts to Neville's brain and he frowned.

"Are you lost?" Neville asked him, and once again he kneeled down.

"My mother forgot me here," the boy told him sadly. He sat down right where he was and twisted open the candy wrapper.

Neville looked around once more. All he could see was the sun, the boy, and dirt and far as the eye can see. _His mother forgot him here? More like his mother dumped him here._ Taking a seat next to the boy, Neville started to wonder for the first time where he was. He thought maybe the boy would know, so he asked him, but he just got a shrug as a reply. Sighing, Neville searched in his pocket for another candy. He popped one into his mouth also and reclined on his arms.

"So," Neville began a bit casually, as if this was a normal occurrence. "How did you get here?"

"Walked."

"How long have you been here?"

"Hours."

"Which way did you come from?"

"North."

"Which way's north?"

The boy pointed to his left but he kept looking at his hands. Neville jumped up abruptly and put a hand down to help the boy up. When they both were on their feet, Neville walked north and the boy followed without comment.

About twenty minutes of walking in silence had just about drove Neville crazy, and he could only imagine how the boy felt. Shouldn't this kid be jumping up and down and annoying him to no end? Yes, he should. But he didn't, that's what made Neville curious. He was just about to comment on the weather to break the silence when a rooftop caught his eye as he looked up. Neville's heart nearly flew away from him in happiness. Finally! Civilization!

Neville tapped the boy on the shoulder and pointed in front of him at the little town in the distance. Not even bother ing to ask, Neville reached for the kid's hand and gripped it tight. The young child had no choise but to follow in the running of the sixth year Gryffindor. They ran until they reached the edge of the town, at which people were walking around the streets with shopping bags in their hands and children in the other. There must have not been a single adult without a child in this town, Neville observed.

They proceeded down one of the streets that went to the center of town. Neville still had the boy's hand but neither seemed to mind. They passed many windows with various wizarding supplies and even some muggle shops mixed in. A sign shined above their heads and Neville read that it was a candy shop. He could always use more candy, and he probably should get something to say sorry for squashing the boy's ice cream cone.

They entered the shop and instantly a sweet chocolate smell reached their noses. Neville smiled and wondered over to one of the cases of displayed candy. "What would you like?" Neville asked the small boy. He wasn't sure he'd get an answer, so was surprised when the kid pointed at something behind the glass. Neville's eyebrows rose as he saw what was the choise of candy. A box of yellow that said _Lemon Drops _was exactly what the kid wanted.

"You sure?" Neville asked him.

The boy nodded and replied, "Please, sir?"

Neville stuck his hand into his pocket and pulled out the last of his money (left over from the train to Hogwarts) and gave it to the person behind the counter. The man smiled and handed over the box.

"Have a good day, Jim," the man told him as he left.

Neville looked back at the man through the window when they were outside again. _I'll just assume he calls everyone that._

They browsed for a little while longer until Neville realized he still didn't have the faintest idea where he was. Oh well, best to stay calm for the kid, he told himself. He glanced down at the boy who was eating one of the candies, and actually seemed alive compared to how he'd been in the dirt piles.

"Isn't that the same as what I gave you before?" Neville asked the boy as they walked. A nod was his answer yes. "You like them then, hm?" Another nod. "Good."

_I need to find this kid's parents._

The thought had barely left his mind when they walked right past a building with the words _'Lost & Found' _on it. Hm... this boy had been lost, hadn't he? He'd been found, hadn't he? Perfect!

Neville told the boy that maybe they could find someone to help. Walking into the building, Neville almost didn't realize that a man was following them, but turned just in time to see the young child, who was holding onto his hand, get wrenched from him. The boy yelled and dropped his box of Lemon Drops on the ground. In the blink of an eye, Neville had his wand out and pointing at the man. Whoa, where had _that_ reflex come from?

"Let him go!" Neville ordered the much older man.

_He's twice my size, what am I thinking! Don't be stupid Neville!_

His brain screamed run, his heart screamed help. His heart outwon his brain very quickly. "_Petrificus Totalus_!"

The man's legs and arms snapped together and he fell onto his back right there on the hard ground. The boy ran over to Neville and wrapped his arms around him, and held on for dear life.

"It's okay, I've got you," Neville reassured the small kid. No one even seemed to care one wit about what had just happened in the middle of the road. People continued what they were doing and never thought about it again. A glance at the man on the ground told him that the kind shop keeper who had helped them before was a lunatic. The candy shop owner was now petrified (thanks to Neville) and looking very angry. "What is wrong with this town?" Neville muttered under his breath as he patted the boy's back gently. "Come on, let's get out of plain sight." Neville took the kid's hand again and this time let him lead so that he could watch behind both their backs.

Entering the building once more, Neville and the boy walked up to the secretary behind the desk, which happened to be two steps into the place so it was very cramped.

_Looked bigger outside._

"Yes, may I help you?" the nice-sounding witch asked with a smile.

"He's lost, and I don't know where his parents are," Neville told her, not returning any type of friendliness.

"Oh, you poor boy. Why don't you come with me?" she asked sweetly, holding out a hand.

Neville pulled the boy back. He wasn't making that mistake again, these people were weird, and probably dangerous also. "I'll take him, just show me where," Neville insisted.

The woman straightened up and replied stiffly, "Very well. Follow me."

She led him through a door on the right and into a large room where there were about twenty people walking aimlessly around, each one had worry in their expressions. Every single one of them reacted when Neville and the child came through that door; some sighed, some yelled in frustration, and some even cried. That is, all but one person acted negatively.

A man with hair to match the young boy's ran up to them and embraced the boy so quickly, Neville didn't think he'd seen it until he blinked a few times. "Father!" the boy yelled happily and wrapped his arms around the man's neck. "My boy," the father half cried, half laughed out.

After a moment the kid's father looked up at Neville and asked, "Where did you find him?"

"Out there somewhere," Neville replied, and waved his hand in some unimportant direction. "Lots of dirt out there," he commented.

"Yes, that there is," the man agreed and smiled. They really did look happy together. Neville wondered briefly if the kid had been telling the truth about his mother when he'd said that she'd left him there. "Thank you for bringing him back. I've been worried out of my mind!" A hand was offered and, after getting over the shock of it, Neville shook with a smile. "You don't look like your from around here," the boy's father said.

"Nope. I'm pretty far from home, I imagine."

"So, you're lost just like this one was?" the witch asked with a tilt of her head.

Neville nodded and said, "I best be going. Goodbye."

"Farewell," the man said to him as he turned around. "That was one odd young man," he murmured, and the witch nodded in agreement.

As Neville walked back out of the building, he saw something yellow shimmer on the ground. When he was closer, he saw that it was the Lemon Drops he'd gotten for the kid earlier. The shop keeper was gone, but Neville had expected as much from the creep. Picking up the small box, he ran back into the building and up to the young boy and his father.

"Here, you forgot this," Neville said, and handed him back the candy.

"Oh yeah! Thanks, sir!"

The boy finally looked up into his face for the first time. Neville's eyes grew round as oranges at what he saw.

"Bye," Neville muttered quickly and then turned and ran back out, leaving some even more shocked people in his wake.

Neville didn't stop running until he was at the edge of the town again. Trying to catch his breath, he put his hands on his knees. He knew those eyes, the eyes of the young boy. Those blue eyes were the first thing he'd seen and liked of Hogwarts. He wasn't scared of them, or the person they belonged to.

Even though he wasn't scared of them, Neville was getting extremely worried. Why shouldn't he be? He had a good reason, he thought. After all, you had to go back pretty far in time to see a seven year old Albus Dumbledore. But the thing that made him nearly want to jump off a bridge was the fact that the 100-something year old headmaster would be the one to tell him he was expelled for underage wizardry, as soon as he was in the correct year. Now Neville was thinking one thought alone: should he even go back at all?

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**A/N:** Ohh Kayy... What did you think of it?  
You can't possibly believe that this was Nev's last day in 1974, can you! That would make no sence, now would it? No. It wouldn't, so don't think it! Hmm... Neville will have a few _very_ good reasons for going back - if he even DOES get back. I'm not saying it's going to be a fun time though...sigh... Hehehee! Review, please!

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**Preview of the same chapter as the last I previewed (make sence? Good.) :**

_"How does it feel to be on the losing end?" Pettigrew taunted them. Silence answered his question. "Hmm, who shall I kill first? How about you, _Snivellus

_Wormtail walked before Severus Snape and aimed his wand right at his heart. Snape looked as if he didn't even notice, he was so calm. Wormtail oppened his mouth to speak the Killing Curse, a smile tinting his lips._


	21. Lost and Found, Part 2

**A/N June 9, 2005: **Hum, that was a bit longer of a wait than normal for new chapters, and for that I'm sorry. But, it's that time o' year again and finals are all next week. Grumble grumble... -_crosses fingers_- Please pass French! Ohh man, I'm gonna flunk. I'll be taking French One until I'm twenty. That is also why this is a slightly shorter chaper. Sorry for that, but I will make it up to ya with a whole heap of answers to questions and action and DEATH -gasp!- comin' soon. No worries.

**lucidity:** Holy smokes! 13 reviews! Thanks times forty-two! Plus five hundred:-D That meant a lot to me, thanks a ton for makin' my days bright!

_**Turning Your Time Around  
**__**By: Cheelalaucha**_

_**Chapter dedicated to: lucidity for readin' & reviewin'! And because of the fact that "Secrets and Lies" is totally awesome :-)**_

_**Chapter 21: "Lost & Found Part Two"

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**_

Neville didn't stop running until he was at the edge of the town again. Trying to catch his breath, he put his hands on his knees. He knew those eyes, the eyes of the young boy. Those blue eyes were the first thing he'd seen and liked of Hogwarts. He wasn't scared of them, or the person they belonged to.

Even though he wasn't scared of them, Neville was getting extremely worried. Why shouldn't he be? He had a good reason, he thought. After all, you had to go back pretty far in time to see a seven year old Albus Dumbledore. But the thing that made him nearly want to jump off a bridge was the fact that the 100-something year old headmaster would be the one to tell him he was expelled for underage wizardry, as soon as he was in the correct year. Now Neville was thinking one thought alone: should he even go back at all?

_There really isn't a point in going someplace where I know I have no future. I guess I could stay here, there's plenty of room. I will make some dirt house or something. That doesn't sound so bad. . ._

But, as always, Neville did not have time to think everything through. The dirt piles around him, and the sun, were fading into nothingness. He didn't move one single finger, toe, or hair as he found himself standing in a dusty old room.

There was just enough light to see shadows of objects that were near to him. Without thinking much of it, Neville reached up and pulled a string above his head. Light flooded into the room and reflected off several mirrors on walls. Neville's stomach grumbled but he ignored it as he studied his surroundings.

_Whoa! How in the worlds did I know that was there? Okay, I'm freaked now. But, wait. . . this place is familiar. . . ._

"Bloody hell! I'm in our attic!" Neville shouted to no one.

This was indeed was not something he expected to see. Sure, times were becoming stranger and stranger with every day, but this was totally different. The attic he was in now was not his grandmother's attic. This was his parent's house. He'd never been here after what happened to his parents, but he was positive of where he stood just by the feel of it. Neville turned around to get a better view of the room and saw a chair behind him. Without another thought, he let himself fall back into it. Dust flew into the air and made him cough, but he did not mind.

On the small round table beside the chair there laid a stack of papers and photos. Curious, Neville reached out to pick up whatever was on top of the stack. A folded up letter was what he found. The name "Ally" was written in big bold handwriting, and he opened it as gently as he could. He read the love note from his father to his mother while his heart raced a mile a minute.

_Ally,_

_You are a star, a treasure, an angel, a beautiful friend, and my wonderful wife. Look at us back in school! _(there must have been a photo with it before, Neville thought.) _More often than you know, your words have soothed my day. Your caring has lifted sadness from my heart. Your insight has cast a new light on my path. And your friendship has made me feel so thankful there is you. May we have a lot more years._

_Your lover,  
Frank _

Whether if he wanted it or not, Neville felt his eyes burn and his vision become blurry. But, he told himself to get a grip and did not let one single tear fall. Setting the note down, Neville picked another from the bottom of the pile. This was also from his father, but a younger one since the style of handwriting was a little messier than the last. With a deep breath, Neville began to read the letter.

_Ally,_

_Sorry I haven't written in a while, I've had lots of training and not much time for myself. How are you doing? I'm fine, but I miss you. I hope you'll be able to visit my house this summer. My mother said she would think about it, but she wouldn't make any promises. _(Sounds like her, Neville told himself.)_ How are the teachers? Is Stole still giving you a hard time in Potions? Sometimes I'm glad that I am not at Hogwarts anymore, but then I remember that you're there and I just miss you twice as much. I hope you can write me back soon. I'll be watching for your owl. _

Lumps of Love,  
Frank

"Lumps of love?" Neville repeated with a raised eyebrow.

For about an hours time, Neville read through letter after letter and note after note in the stack of papers. The twenty-sixth note he picked up was totally blank, so he moved to set it down again. However, at just that moment, words appeared on the paper. Neville's eyes widened at what he saw.

_**Longbottom?**_

Not knowing what to do, Neville glanced around the room and said out loud, "What the...?" The words disappeared and were replaced with new ones.

_**Where are you?**_

"Uh.. quill, where's a quill?" Neville searched around for one, but got a reply on the paper instead.

_**Just speak. Where are you?**_

Okay, that was more than a little weird. Nervously, Neville answered, "I-I'm in my ol-old a-at-attic."

_**Stop stuttering, Longbotttom. What year are you in?**_

That had to be Snape. No one else would just order him like that, he was pretty sure. _Well, let's show him what I'm made of._ With his voice strong and confident, Neville replied, "I'm not entirely sure. It has to be before my parents were tortured." That had hurt somewhat to say, but he'd done it and not stuttered once. That was something to be proud of, right? There were no new words for about a minute, so Neville sat back further into the chair until they appeared.

_**I tried to return you here, but I was unsuccessful. I cannot try again for another twenty-four hours.**_

"And in the mean time?" Neville questioned with a sigh. Even though he couldn't realize it, his mood shifted and he was acting, talking, and thinking a bit more darker and in a way that implied he had no fears.

_**In the mean time, I suggest you stay where you are.**_

Neville went along with it for another long hour without any words from Snape. He finally could not stand just sitting around waiting. "This is so boring," Neville whined. "Would you just get me out of here already!"

_**One: I do not care how bored or entertained you are. Two: I am your teacher and you will act respectful. Do you understand?**_

Neville laughed and said, "In your dreams." before he could stop himself. He covered his mouth with his hand and his eyes grew wide. Before his professor could react, Neville quickly said, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean that!"

_**Should I just leave you where you are? I have no problem having you out of my hair for good.**_

"No!" Neville pleaded. This place was making him crazy! Putting his hands over his eyes this time, he tried to banish the thoughts that entered his mind. Thoughts of cursing Snape with a Crucio or two, or maybe poison would be better. . . . He didn't seem to notice that he was speaking out loud the next few minutes and wasn't aware Snape could hear him.

**_-

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_**

Severus Snape sat alone at his desk in the gloomy candle light. Rain and thunder made their noises against the castle as he thought of how dull his life was. He'd just heard the Longbottom child yell a "No!" to his question. Snape smirked. He had the upper hand now, didn't he? That child would obey him now, he thought.

But, as he sat there, Longbottom's voice continued to echo through his office. Snape's smirk vanished as he heard the pleading tones. Those were not directed at him, Snape realized, but the Gryffindor was muttering to himself. The Potions master was growing increasingly worried as the child went on and on.

_**Don't think that. . . Come on, just leave me alone. . . I don't want to hear it anymore. . . .**_

"Longbottom?" Snape asked aloud, knowing the boy could read his words. When the other's voice rang out again, he was glad to note that it was much calmer than a few seconds ago.

_**Professor? I'm sorry for what I said. I didn't mean it. . . It's probably just because I. . . I'm. . . hungry.**_

"When was the last time you ate?"

_**The day before yesterday, s-sir.**_

Severus frowned at that. If the boy couldn't get here in the next 24 hours, then what was he supposed to eat? It would have been much better if he had ended up in a town of some sort so that he could buy what he needed, but things did not always work out for the best. "Is there anywhere you can find food?"

_**The door's lock-locked, sir.**_

Oh, just brilliant. Things were getting better by the minute. "Well, stay where you are. You don't want someone to find you up there."

_**Yes. . . sir.**_

Hours passed without any words, and Severus had taken to grading papers. He'd almost finished grading when he heard a groan. That had to have been Longbottom, Snape thought to himself silently. "How are you holding up?" Snape asked in a slightly gentler tone than he had ever spoken to a student with.

_**Not so good, sir.**_

The boy had gasped out that last bit, and Severus was getting slightly nervous. I can't just sit and do nothing no matter how much I want to. He sighed and said, "Have you tried sleeping?"

_**I. . . I. . . .**_

"Longbottom?" Severus asked the air. He heard another groan from the boy and then the words weakly spoken after.

_**I cannot fall asleep, sir. My head is pounding, it feels s'like it's going to exp-explode.**_

"What school subject do you enjoy?" Severus asked in a slightly desperate try to keep the Gryffindor's mind off food. There had been several times when he, Severus, had to go for days on end without eating, and he knew just how bad it could get.

_**H-Herbology, sir.**_

"What are the three most deadly plants in England?" Snape inquired. The boy replied with the correct answer for once, and Snape continued on with questions like, "Where are violet Tremptone plants found?" and "Who discovered the Memory Vine?" and that kept the other talking. Not a single question was answered incorrectly, much to Snape's surprise. How did this boy know all this and still not be able to make a decent potion with these things? Severus was just about to ask another question when the boy's voice reached his ears.

_**Sir, please. . . no more.**_

Snape sighed. Time was going by slowly and the blasted child must be starving by now. He would be lucky to be able to move after the 24 hours was up. Then something occurred to Severus: what if Longbottom didn't end up in the right place again? And if he didn't, would he still be able to communicate with the boy? If that happened, and he ended in the middle of nowhere, Longbottom would surely die of dehydration without water. It was unlikely to happen, but possible none the less. How could he solve this new problem? It would not exactly look good if he just left the stupid _Gryffindor_ to die. It was just amazing that the child hadn't blown himself up in class trying (and failing) to make a first year potion. So, what _should_ he do? He wondered for a while but kept coming back to one solution. Oh for Melin's sake, Snape thought.

_**-

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**_

Neville's eyes actually drooped closed after his last sentence. Think calming thoughts, that was always best. Even though it felt like only one minute, it had actually been hours later when he awoke. Before his starved body could react, he found his head being tilted back and a liquid rushing down his throat. After a few seconds, he was able to move with less pain and his headache was fading into nothingness.

"Wha?" Neville whispered out as he glanced around for the source of the relief. Two dark eyes peered at him from not too far away. "Whudder you doin' here?" Neville asked groggily as he lifted himself to his hands and knees.

"Watch your manners, Longbottom," the Potions master growled.

Neville was about to apologize when a shiver ran through his body. He drew back a bit and rubbed his own arms to stay warm. As he stared at the floor, a pale hand came into his line of vision. He looked up and was surprised to note the hint of concern he could see in those Death Eater eyes. He took the hand offered and was lifted on to his feet.

"How are you feeling?" Snape asked, though his tone suggested he didn't care much about the answer. That was no news to Neville (that Snape hated him). He supposed that if the roles were switched, he'd find himself rather annoying.

Keeping up with his calm face, he answered plainly, "Better. Thank you."

The way the Gryffindor was speaking was nothing like how he used to stutter in class. Perhaps this whole thing with Merlin had done the boy some good.

"Sir," the boy began lightly, "has anyone died since I left?"

"Why would you ask something like that?" Snape was truly shocked at what had come from that sixth-year's mouth. Alright, maybe the situation with Merlin was _not_ doing him any good.

"I don't want to be sad when I hear it, but I know I will. I'd rather not have an audience. It's best to just know now while there's hardly any people around to see me."

Okay, that was a bit of a stunner to the Potions master. When was the last time Longbottom had used his brain? Never. So, what was going on now? "No," Snape looked him over, "there have been no deaths."

"Attacks?" Neville questioned further.

"No." Severus replied shortly.

"Raids?"

"None."

"Have-"

"Mr. Longbottom," Snape ground out. "If you say one more word, it's detention for a month!"

Neville shut his mouth and didn't say another word for the next hour.

_**-

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**_

As the 24-hour wait was ending, Severus could feel the Dark Mark tingling on his arm. That was his cue to be ready at any moment to fulfill his part of the plan. He would return with Longbottom right on time. That was definitely good news since his whole career and even his life were on the line tonight.

_"You will see that the Gryffindor is alone when our dear Lucius arrives, will you not?" Voldemort had asked him in the last meeting._

_"Yes, my Lord," Severus had replied._

Well, Voldemort would certainly get the idiot student out of his hair for a few days. The Dark Lord would have some fun for sure, as would he (Severus). Thank the gods for small blessings. Goodbye you useless Gryffindor, Snape thought with a smirk.

_**-

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**_

**A/N:** What'd ya think o' it? I'm havin' a slightly difficult time comin' up with a title name. What could ya call a meeting with a lot of people? I'm losin' me mind just tryin' ta think of a good word/words. Oh well, thanks fer readin'!  
**The first letter from Frank to Alice** was from an actual note my grandfather wrote for my gran. It was in a box of old papers, and I thought it was so sweet.  
Got some questions? Here could be your answers...

**Why was the chapter called 'Lost & Found'? What did they find:** Hm, well, Neville (and now Snape) are lost somewhere in time. And, Snape has found it in himself to be civil and not scare Neville to death. Neville also found some letters, uh, pictures, things like that. Nev found out that his dad was in some sorta training away from Hogwarts. Hey, did ya notice that I mentioned Professor Stole again?  
**Is Snape a traitor to the light: **Now that would be giving something away, wouldn't it? If he was a traitor, he'd eventually get what he deserved and that would be death.  
**Which Gryffindor is Snape 'after':** Well, it could be any of them. Hah!  
**Neville's acting weird, why is that:** Neville's got some changing attitudes, did you see that? I guess I can say that being in the past for so long is having effects on Nev. That just might lead to something bigger...  
**How'd Snape get where Nev is?**: He did the same thing he did to get Nev in his parent's old house. I will tell how he did that in either the next or some chapter soon. No worries, yet.  
**Arrg! This is so aggravating! Who's bad and who's good:** I know ya get mixed signals, but it's not in the 'Mystery' category for nothin'!

**lucidity's Q's from reviews...(ones that haven't been answered already) **: Neville, evil... I would never do that ;-D I'm also a good liar. Nope, Rotiart isn't actually Tom, but you are.. on the right track. Dumbledore's could be good or evil, depending on how ya look at him & his actions. Snape has to be quick minded, our great spy that he is. But, he's been doing it for years, and Neville was successful with out any practice in lying (and making those lies believable). Does that not suggest that Nev will lie a lot when he's older? Hehehee... Oh yes, Snape & Ron & Nev are workin' together. That git needed some payback after all those years of scaring my poor baby Nev:-D There was some things in the last chapter that will have an impact on later chapters.

_One last thing_: Something happened in chapter **#11** that will give Neville & Snape some troubles. Can you guess what?


	22. Welcome to Hogwarts

**A/N June 16, 2005: **This chapter goes from strange to totally weird. I just wanted to warn you. Oh, and Pansy is really, really, really OOC. She wouldn't go off and kiss a Gryffindor, but she's a bit nicer. I will explain later on about what Draco and her were thinking before this.  
**lucidity:** Reviewer's response in my profile page. Thanks for readin' & reviewin'!

_**Turning Your Time Around  
**__**By: Cheelalaucha  
**_**_Chapter dedicated to: _**My cousin Miriam who's in the hospital right now. Get better soon!

_**Chapter 22: "Welcome to Hogwarts"

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**_

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Seamus yawned and turned over. He nearly jumped through the ceiling when a shrill scream rang out around him. Drawing the hangings back, he leapt up. He went over to ask Dean what had happened when he saw the empty bed. "Wha?" he mumbled sleepily and headed for Ron's bed. When he found every single one empty, he practically flew to the common room.

He found Loony Lovegood standing by the fire, gazing intently into the burning flames. "What're you doin' here? You're not a Gryffindor," he said with a huff. The girl turned slowly to face him with intense eyes. He shifted on his feet, feeling uncomfortable at being stared at by a crazy Ravenclaw. "Did you scream?" He tried to get her to speak, but she just stood and stared with a slight smile.

After a few minutes, she raised a tiny hand and pointed at the portrait entrance. "I thought I saw an evil man." was all she said. Taking his hand in her's, she led the reluctant Seamus out into the hall and down toward the Great Hall. Something was strange about the way they took to the Hall, and it nagged at him the whole way down. If they'd gone to the right and then down the stairs, they'd have been there already. No student with a brain took the long way. Oh well, Seamus thought, she is Loony.

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_**-  
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"Harry, slow down!" Hermione yelled as she ran to catch him.

Harry didn't lessen his pace, if anything, he went faster. "We have to find him!" He shouted behind his shoulder.

"But Dumbledore said-" Ginny began, but was cut off by Harry.

"I don't care what Dumbledore said! He's keeping things from me again, and we all know how things turn out when he's secretive." They rounded a corner just as the voice of Seamus was heard from behind.

"Yeah, you go off and get someone killed!"

Harry stopped dead in his tracks and sped around so quick he was dizzy for a second. "What did you just say?" Harry demanded as he stalked up to Seamus, who was alone.

"It's not Dumbledore's fault that someone died - it's yours," Seamus said cruelly. "The hero killed someone."

"Why you-" Harry rushed forward to pounce on his fellow Gryffindor, but Dean caught him from behind and dragged him back.

"What are you playing at?" Dean yelled at his best friend as Harry struggled against him. Seamus shrugged.

Everyone turned around when a dreamy voice spoke up. "What's going on?" Luna asked with a far away expression.

Seamus noticed the girl wasn't wearing a pendant around her neck and swore under his breath. It was the real one.

* * *

_**-  
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They made their way down to the Entrance Hall, but they stopped just short of the Great Hall doors. Instead, they headed for the way outside. Seamus pulled out of Luna's grasp.

"Where're we going?" he asked hesitantly.

"To help Neville." Luna grabbed his arm again and pulled him closer to the doors.

"Neville?" Seamus asked in surprise. "But, he's visiting his gran's."

Luna gave a tiny laugh. "No, he's not. Trust me." She tried to push him on but he wouldn't budge. "Don't you care what happens to your friend?"

It was Seamus' turn to laugh. Luna stopped and stared at him curiously. "What?" she asked.

"Somehow, I don't think I trust you," Seamus replied with a grin.

Luna let go of the Gryffindor's arm and still stared at him. "What do you mean?"

Seamus' face turned hateful, and he said in a low voice, "No one trusts Slitherins around here."

Luna's heart sped up. "I'm a Ravenclaw," she said although it was a bit on the uncertain side. Another laugh came at her, and she backed up, ready to run. "I am!" she insisted.

"Oh yeah, and me mam's married to Snape." Seamus stepped closer. "Tell me Pansy, how's Draco these days?"

Luna's eyes widened and she turned and ran as fast as she could away from him. She didn't get far as Remus Lupin stepped out in front of her, blocking her way. She skidded to a halt then turned to her right, only to see McGonagall standing straight and glaring. With one last attempt, she rushed to the left. That also was not going to work, she realized. Professor Dumbledore stood before her, arms at his sides, and his face tired. She sighed and gave up her escape plans. The headmaster walked up to her and gazed sadly at the Slitherin. Pansy Perkinson looked into the blue eyes of the wizard.

"How long until the spell wears off?" Dumbledore asked her gently.

She hesitated, but the headmaster waited patiently for her to answer. "About a half hour, sir," she responded softly as she looked away.

A hand came up to her chin and raised her head to look back at the headmaster. She blinked a few times but did not try to turn away again.

"Why did you do this?" the old wizard asked.

"Because. . ." she looked up at the headmaster with sorrowful eyes. "If we hadn't. . . he would have picked someone else to."

"And you want to be on your master's good side, right?" Seamus shot at her from behind.

"No!" she yelled back in a scared voice.

"Mr. Finnigan, please let her finish." Dumbledore waited for her to continue, but all he got was silence. "Why would it have mattered if he'd chose some other people to do this task?" he prodded.

"Bec-because then we wouldn't be able to save him," she blurted out.

"What?" Seamus, Remus, and McGonagall all said in unison. Dumbledore just smiled.

"Remus, please go get Mr. Malfoy and bring him to my office. I expect he's causing quite a mishap up there with the other Gryffindors. Minerva, you'd better go too."

Remus nodded, a bit unsure, but left to find the other impersonator together with McGonagall.

* * *

_**-  
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"Nothing is going on. Just leave," Harry said, and he calmed down a bit.

"It doesn't look like nothing," Luna replied softly.

"Well, it is," Harry snapped back.

"Harry," Hermione said from beside him. "Stop being so snippy. How about we go back to the common room to see if Ron's there?"

Harry glared daggers at her and was about to reply when Remus walked right up to them. He cleared his throat and with a glance at 'Seamus', he said, "Mr. Finnigan, please come with me."

"Why?" Seamus asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Because the headmaster has a friend of yours up in his office." When the boy's eyes widened, he quickly added, "It's okay, he just wants to ask you a few things. There is nothing to worry about."

Malfoy highly doubted that, but he went anyway. McGonagall told the other students to head back to their common rooms. Harry needed to be pulled away slightly by Dean and Hermione. Ginny followed close behind them. Luna Lovegood, on the other hand, headed for her favorite place in all of Hogwarts.

She spoke the password and entered the dark room. Luna sat herself upon one of the brown chairs and sighed. Slipping her wand out, she pointed it at the small square window. "**_Newpondera_**."

* * *

_**-  
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Dumbledore, Pansy, Remus, and Draco headed to the headmaster's office silently. Albus did not want to have any conversations where wondering ears could hear them. But it was difficult, seeing as what was happening around him. Pansy had said they were trying to save the Gryffindor, even if it seemed as if they were harming him.

When they were al in his office, Albus began the questioning. He asked about who had sent them: Voldemort. Who else was involved: other Slitherins. One question came out that he was nearly dying to ask, though his face showed no sign of it.

"Why would you two of all people want to go against an order given from Voldemort?" Albus asked interestedly.

Pansy glanced at Draco who was not looking at her. His blond hair shimmered in the candle light but she could not hold him now, she reminded herself. There were things to be done now. So, she answered for the both of them. "The Dark Lord said this would lead us all into the final battle. We got worried that if this whole kidnapping took place the. . . good side would stand no chance."

Remus raised an eyebrow. Dumbledore looked down, slightly saddened, but nevertheless glad that they had thought things through somewhat. It was the fact that the two did not realize the wrongs of the Death Eater's actions that troubled the headmaster. The children mearly wanted to be on the winning side? Well, don't look a gift horse in the mouth, Albus told himself mentally.

"A life with him as leader would be the same as an eternity in hell," Draco stated quietly but firmly with his head bowed towards the floor.

Dumbledore found there might be a chance to enlighten the two a little more. "Why would that be, Mr. Malfoy?" he questioned gently.

Draco's head came up and he gazed at the headmaster for a moment before answering, "He hates everyone."

Albus' eyebrows rose just a bit when he heard that. So maybe the young Slitherin understood more than he thought. Pansy looked confused and glanced between the two. Albus noticed this and said, "Care to elaborate, Mr. Malfoy?"

Without hesitation, he explained. "The Dark Lord treats his followers just about as bad as his enemies. He will eventually do away with every single person on the earth, and he will be left alone to rule his own way. If he wins, then it's not just the mud-" Dumbledore shot him a warning look, so he rethought his words. "-Muggle-borns that will be murdered."

Remus' eyes widened as she saw how true that was, and Pansy was somewhat the same. Dumbledore smiled again. He recalled hearing that same thing some years ago from the current Hogwarts Potions master. They were so alike, Severus and Draco, and they did not even know it.

"Draco, Pansy, we will have to take a few measures to secure your's and Mr. Finnigan's safety. Will you be cooperative?" Dumbledore asked them sternly.

The Slitherins nodded, but did not speak. What in all the universe had they gotten themselves into? But, unbeknownst to any of them, they would not get the opportunity to find out.

* * *

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Severus counted down from thirty in his head. There were only a few moments until he could try to apparate with Neville. Soon, he would be back to reality and he could take up ignoring Longbottom again for the rest of his life, and vice versa.

_20... 19... 18... 17... _

Back to teaching dunderheads. Back to watching out for the Golden Boy. Back to spying for the Dark Lord. Back to a life where everyone despised him. Back to a life of redemption.

_16... 15... 14... 13..._

Neville stood waiting for the time to come when he could finally get back to normal. He hadn't done the job Merlin had given him, though - he did not manage to get Lily together with James before he left. _I should have said something! Idiot Neville, _he told himself over and over again. Now what would happen?

_12... 11... 10... 9..._

Back to getting teased and laughed at. Back to getting yelled at by professors. Back to homework and grades. Back to a life where no one cared about him. Back to a life of no meaning.

_8... 7... 6..._

Dunderheads-Dark Lord-Golden Boy-redemption-enemies-darkness-evil.

_5... 4... 3..._

Professors-Merlin-Bivorio-meaningless-friends-dim light-nothingness.

_2... 1..._

Snape took Neville's arm and apparated, picturing the portrait of the three crows.

* * *

_**-  
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Albus stood from his seat and motioned for Remus, Draco, and Pansy to follow him. They were at the Potions master's door in a matter of minutes. Albus knocked several times but got no answer. Growing concerned, he opened the door with a wave of his wand. When he saw no one there he turned to Remus who was over at Snape's desk looking down at the papers that lay on top.

"Where did you last see Severus, Remus?" Albus asked. (try saying that five times fast!)

Remus did not answer, but he took a closer look at the notes on the desk. "Albus, I think you should see this."

"What is-" Albus was cut off by a rumbling noise somewhere above their heads. The headmaster frowned as the noise came again, only louder. Then, with a jolt, he understood what was happening. "Oh no," he murmured. In a flash of light, Albus Dumbledore disappeared from the room, leaving some very confused people behind.

Albus appeared in the tiny space just as time itself crumbled and reformed.

* * *

_**-  
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Both Snape and Neville fell to the floor of the dark room. Severus got up with a huff and brushed off his robes.

"Did we make it?" Neville asked nervously as he too stood up.

"We better have," Severus said dangerously as he took out his wand. "_Lumos_." Light shined around them from the tip of Snape's wand. Neville knew after a few seconds of studying their surroundings where they were. With a tiny sigh, he also took out his wand. When he raised it, Snape interrupted roughly, "Just what do you think you are doing?" It was obvious he still thought Neville was an accident waiting to happen.

_Maybe this is my chance to get him back a little._

"Why? You afraid I'm going to blow something up, sir?" Neville asked with a glance at the glaring Potions master. "**_Newpondera_**," Neville said as he pointed to the window with his wand. The normal change happened: The five chairs turned to dark red, green, blue, purple, and one gray. The books were on bookshelves, and the dust was gone. The walls were light blue, and on each one there was a painting of a sun setting. Those were not the only differences.

"Professor Dumbledore!" Neville exclaimed as the headmaster stood gazing at them. "What are you doing here?" Neville asked him, lowering his wand and stuffing it in his robes again.

"I was wondering the same thing, Mr. Longbottom. I had not intended to end up here." Dumbledore walked closer to them and smiled. "I have not seen you in a while," he commented with a nod towards the young Gryffindor.

Neville grinned back at the wizard. "You're sure a sight for sore eyes," Neville told him.

The headmaster's smiled faded just a bit and he asked, "What have you been doing all this time, dear boy?" Even though he'd heard everything about Merlin from Ron, he still wondered about how Neville was doing in all his time gone.

Neville looked to the floor, regaining some of his shyness in front of the headmaster. It seemed like he'd been gone for ages, but in reality only a week had passed. That was one week without class, one week without meals in the Great Hall, and one week without sleeping in his bed here at Hogwarts. He never knew how much he really could miss all those things. A few times he had actually missed being around his gran who compared him so much to his father. Maybe he should have been happier before with his life.

"Mr. Longbottom?" Dumbledore brought him out of his thoughts.

Neville looked up again and said in an empty tone, "I think I should go get some rest before it gets much later. I've got classes tomorrow."

The headmaster regarded him for a moment then replied, "Perhaps that is a good idea. But, I will inform your teachers you will not be to class until after lunch."

"Thank you, sir." And with that, Neville turned and walked to the door. When he opened the door, he noticed for the first time that Luna Lovegood was sitting in one of the chairs. Without so much as raised eyebrow, Neville said, "Hey Luna." and walked out.

When he was gone, Snape looked at the headmaster with confusion. "What's going on?" he asked, not caring to beat around the bush.

"I haven't the faintest idea." was all the old wizard replied as he too walked out the door and up toward his office.

Snape stood there in silence for a moment then remembered the Ravenclaw was still there with him. "Get back to your common room. Ten points from Ravenclaw for being out past curfew."

Luna did as told, and the Potions master followed her out after a glance more at the room. They headed their separate ways without another word.

* * *

_**-  
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Neville hadn't seen anyone as he made his way to Gryffindor Tower which wasn't surprising considering the time of day it was. That changed as he turned a corner and slammed into someone. The two fell to the floor with a high-pitched yelp from the person Neville had run into.

"Ow," Neville mumbled and rubbed the spot where their heads hand collided. Without warning, the other person grabbed his hand and pulled him to his feet quickly. Neville swayed on his feet. "Whoa," he said as he held onto the wall to keep from falling over again. Closing his eyes, Neville tried to steady himself.

"Come on, we can't stay here!" the other whispered urgently to him. That voice seemed oddly familiar to Neville and he opened is eyes again to see the person. He only got a glance the boy's hair as he took off down the corridor. Neville followed him in a slight jog, trying to keep up but also not wanting to pass out from the dizziness.

He was grabbed yet again as he went past a classroom. He was flung in, and the door clicked shut behind him. "Hey," Neville panted, "could you stop do-d. . . ." Neville finally got a good look at the person.

"You shouldn't be out here! You'll get put in the infirmary for a week if you're out here this late!" the boy told him frantically as he paced in front of Neville. "How are we supposed to get back safely from here?" he asked, apparently to himself. All Neville did was stare in confusion. "Okay," the other said and stopped pacing to stand before Neville. "I'll go through the Professor's Passage then to the Gryffindor Tunnel. What house are you in?"

"I-I. . . Gryffind-dor," Neville stuttered.

_He doesn't know who I am?_

"Really? Must be a new one," the other said and pushed him over to the door. "You come with me then, and we'll try to get back to the common room without the Prat Pack seeing us. Potter must be going mad from not being able to catch anyone."

"What?" Neville asked the blond-haired boy in surprise.

"I'll tell you later," the boy insisted and put his hand out. "I'm Draco Malfoy, welcome to Hogwarts."

Neville reluctantly shook the sixth-year's hand, his stunned expression not wavering one bit. Maybe it was time to use his fake name again if things as strange as this were happening. "Neville Raymond."

"Good to meet you, Neville. Now, let's go - and be quiet." Draco opened the door and slipped out, not making a single sound as he did so.

Neville just stood there for a moment, too bewildered to move. He sighed and shook his head lightly.

_I hope someone fed Trevor while I've been gone. He's prolly the only sane one around here anymore.

* * *

_

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**A/N#2:** The first part of this chapter wasn't as good as I'd wanted it to be. But, I had a hard time trying to get thoughts out right. Sorry 'bout that. If there's questions, I've no doubt there was something that was confusing in there, let me know please.

The next chapter will be about the "Prat Pack" - Leader: Harry Potter.


	23. Different and Deadly

**A/N July 10, 2005: **Okay, can someone please tell me what the chances are that the sixth HP book comes out on the same day I have to help out at a fund-raiser? What, one in a thousand? Million? Geez. Oh, and has everyone checked out the thing on FF-net ("Stats") where you can see how many times your story is viewed and who has you on their favs lists? That's pretty cool.**  
**  
**Thanks to: **lucidity, Jubalee, and those who keep quiet but still read.

**Disclaimer:** I've got some strange ones here, but other than them, Harry Potter & Co. belong to J.K. Rowling. FIVE MORE DAYS (for those of us who have time to read)!

**Rating: **PG-13 (some violence & language) There wasn't much of a need for the T rating before, but now that's gonna change. Watch out, Neville!

**Dedicated to:** Jocelyn & her mum for 4 _thousand_ reviews for "Battle of Wills"!

* * *

**_Turning Your Time Around_**  
_**  
**-- Last chapter --  
_

_"Good to meet you, Neville. Now, let's go - and be quiet." Draco opened the door and slipped out, not making a single sound as he did so._

_Neville just stood there for a moment, too bewildered to move. He sighed and shook his head lightly._

_'I hope someone fed Trevor while I've been gone. He's prolly the only sane one around here anymore.'_

--

_**Chapter 23: "Different and Deadly"**_

--

As Draco and Neville crept down the corridor, the paintings on the walls whispered to eachother. Neville received quite a few sympathetic glances and even some of the worrying girls cried for them. He could not understand why, though. Did he look _that_ bad?

Draco silently ushered him over to an odd looking giant cat statue. Neville could have sworn the eyes of the cat were watching him as he drew nearer. Draco looked around, making sure no one else was lurking, and flicked the cat's nose. Neville jumped back as he heard someone squeak, "Ouch!"

The statue was steadily moving to the left to let them through to a dark passageway. Without warning, Draco shoved him into the darkness and followed close behind. Things weren't too frightening until the cat moved back into place and every bit of light was stolen from their surroundings. With his hands in front of him to protect from running into anything, Neville walked slowly forward.

The result of his slow pace was another shove from Malfoy and he stumbled into the wall to his right. If he'd been able to see, Draco would have known that Neville was giving him a very dirty look at the moment. But, they both were still walking in the darkness.

Moments passed without comment, and as they trotted onward, the passage became narrower. When Neville could no longer fit between the walls, he and Draco turned sideways and continued. From some distance away, Neville could make out male voices talking quickly, but was unable to understand the words clearly.

Malfoy, as if he knew what Neville was thinking, said to him, "The end's not far, don't worry."

"Who's that talking?" Neville whispered to the side of him where he knew Draco must be.

"It's probably just some of the professors. This _is_ their passage after all," Draco replied, not caring to whisper.

_And he thinks this is a good thing? Alright, I've missed something - since when is it okay to get caught after hours by a professor? Maybe Malfoy needs some air, this tight spot is making him delusional._

Neville didn't voice his thoughts for the moment, but he did promise himself that if the Slytherin pushed him one more time he'd-

Draco grabbed Neville by the arm to stop him. "Shh. Don't move."

Neville did as told and stood stalk still as if his life depended on it. Complete silence was around them once more - not even the professors' chatting could be heard any longer. He waited in anticipation as sweat dripped down his forehead and his heart thumped a mile a minute in his chest. What was going on?

_Don't move, don't move, don't breath, don't breath! We're gonna get caught, we're gonna-_

"**BOO!**" Something pushed him sideways onto the floor of the cramped space.

"_AHHHHHHH_!"

Neville scrambled away and cowered by the wall just as a chilling sound echoed through the hall. Draco was practically rolling on the floor with laughter at scaring the new kid Neville. He clutched his ribs as he tried, and failed terribly, to catch his breath and laugh at the same time.

Little did this alternate Draco know, the new kid had been the subject of a Malfoy's teasing and torment for five years (going on six) at school. This time was just enough to push the normally shy boy over the edge. He hadn't needed to see where the Slytherin had been, he could hear him laughing his head off and dove in. Neville jumped to his feet and griped the collar of Draco's robes and pushed him into the wall. Draco abruptly stopped his fit and tried to get out of the new kid's hold. But, Neville would not let him go that easily.

Hauling the boy up just off the stone floor, he threw Draco sideways. Where the other should have landed on his Slytherin bum, he thudded into a fake wall which gave way and all three (the wall, Draco, and Neville) fell into an untidy heap before twelve of Hogwarts' current professors.

Neville looked up into the faces of the people who were staring quietly at the sight before them. Draco struggled to get up and Neville let go of him with a huff. They both got to their feet and waited for someone to speak. It wasn't long before a familiar voice said, "Well, as I was saying, the wizard-eating werewolf ran at me and-"

"Oh shut up Gilderoy!" Minerva McGonagall barked at the Defense professor. The old witch stepped forward slowly and looked over the two boys. She looked as professional as ever in her dark blue teaching robes, but that was definitely _not_ what it sounded like. With a sigh she asked Draco, "Whatter yah doing here kiddie? Been wonder-hiccup-ing around have -hiccup- you?"

Draco dropped his eyes in shame and said nothing. Neville just stared dumbly at her, his jaw down toward the ground and his eyebrows up.

"Oh I -hiccup- see, you're -hiccup- not talking, are yeaaa-hiccup-ahh? Off to the Head-hiccup-Head-hiccup-Head-hiccup- oh forget it." She ended it with a wave of her hand and walked back to her previous conversation with the Charms teacher.

Draco smiled the tinniest bit as he headed for the back corner of the room. Neville followed but could not help but be shocked at who he saw in the brightly lit room. Lockheart was telling a bored looking Sprout about his latest brush with death and how he'd overcome yet another great beast.

_What the hell?_

In the corner stood a tall bookshelf of nothing but Potion manuals. Draco looked over at Neville as if asking 'Are you ready?'. Neville gave one short nod and watched as the Slytherin pulled a purple book off the highest shelf. With a low rumble, the bookcase dissolved into nothing right before their eyes, texts and all.

Instead of a wall as Neville had expected, there was a painting that went from floor to ceiling. The man in the picture was standing straight and tall with his head held up high. A tip-curled mustache was directly above a black-tooth grin on the man who stared at them. With a wink at Draco the man in the portrait said, "Why hello there Flip Squat, nice to see you again! Who is your new and incredibly odd friend? You are friends, correct?"

"Yes, sir. This is Neville Raymond," Malfoy responded helpfully. "Neville, this is Waldo Grecko."

The man smiled and added, "Mystery-Solving Extraordinare, and Protector of the Children. How do you do?"

"Uh... fine, thanks," Neville said warily.

Waldo Grecko regarded him for a moment as he rubbed his chin in thought.  
"No you're not," he said simply. Neville looked taken aback but did not reply. He didn't have to since Waldo continued on. "You seem lost. Are you?"

"Yes." Neville eyed Grecko strangely as the man asked more questions. He wasn't sure yet if this man could be trusted, and given the people he was meeting lately, he was not about to just tell all his secrets.

"Where did you come from?"

"Far away," Neville said cryptically.

"Humm, well then, why are you here?" Grecko asked as Draco wondered off back to the teachers. On the Protector's orders, everyone new needed to be questioned by Waldo himself.

Neville paid no mind to the Slytherin's leaving and replied, "I'm here because someone sent me here."

"Oh really?" Grecko said casually. "Who?"

"A professor."

"One of our professors?" the other asked, looking over Neville's head to the staff.

Neville sighed. "Yes."

Grecko raised an eyebrow and said, "Care to tell me which one?"

Neville thought of Snape, but decided against mentioning his name. "I'd rather not say. I don't think he wants it spread around."

"Fair enough." Grecko's expression changed from an interested one to a serious one as he looked directly into the Gryffindor's eyes. "Do you intend to harm the children in this castle?"

Resisting the urge to let his jaw fall in surprise, Neville replied, "Never!"

_Here I was being suspicious of him, when **he's** the one who's suspicious of **me**!_

With a faint "That's all I needed to know." from Grecko, the portrait evaporated in the same fashion as the bookcase had only minutes before.

Neville just blinked and stared.

_What just happened?_

"Coming?"

Neville realized that Draco was nearly five feet into the passage and ran to catch up. They were in darkness not too long after. For most of the time they both were quiet, thinking and walking.

"I wish there was light in here," Draco muttered as he stopped suddenly. Neville did the same and was about to get out his wand to use 'Lumos' when the Slytherin continued. "I'm sorry about before... you know, the whole scaring you thing. I wouldn't have done it if I'd known how you'd react."

Draco waited for a response, but all he got was silence. "Neville?"

Truth be told, Neville was too stunned to answer that, so he just started walking again. Draco followed without a word. After tripping on his feet for the third time, Neville pulled his wand out of his pocket and whispered, "_Lumos_."

Draco jumped back and hit the wall on his left. Neville could see him holding his arms in front of his face for protection.

"What?" Neville asked, sounding confused.

"You-" he gasped, "Wand! You've got a wand!"

Lowering said object, Neville watched as Draco peeked over his arm. "What's wrong with you Malfoy? You're acting like you've never seen magic before."

"Children aren't allowed wands!" Draco said frantically, ducking behind himself again.

"Children? We're sixteen! And what are you talking about 'no wands', that's the stupidest-" Neville was yelling at the Slytherin almost as loud as he possibly could. He only quieted after hearing the footsteps of people running toward them. Judging by the fact that Draco came out from behind his defenses, he'd heard the clapping of shoes to stone also. Neither had time to react as curses flew down the tunnel straight at them.

Within two seconds of the spell hitting him, Neville knew what it was. His most favorite - Petrificus Totalus. His limbs snapped to attention and he soon lost his balance, falling forwards into the arms of the castor. He heard people around him talking excitedly as he was dragged back the way Draco and Neville had come before.

They were out of the tunnel and back in the now professorless staff room in minutes. He was dropped to the floor like a sack of potatoes, all the while trying to break free of the binding spell. One voice alone stopped him from struggling.

"Why Draco, what are you doing out so late? I would have figured, after what happened last time, that you'd have learned better than to go wondering past seven."

_It can't be! Oh, you have got to be kidding me-_

The savior of the Wizarding world paced before him with a gleeful smile upon his face. "I'm sure the Headmaster would love to know about this. Wouldn't you agree, Draco?" Harry Potter asked, though not actually wanting an answer.

Without warning, Potter gave a rough kick into Neville's stomach, making the Gryffindor shut his eyes tightly in pain. But, it didn't end there he realized as another foot connected with his right arm, successfully rolling him over onto his other side. Neville had to fight his hardest to keep a groan in.

Potter rolled him back over with his hands, leaning down to look at Neville better. "You shouldn't have come here," he growled. A hard slap in the face and a punch later, Neville was released from Petrificus Totalus, but he barely moved anyway.

There was a laugh from Potter as he watched him lay on the cold stone floor. He wasn't sure where Malfoy was, and at the moment he didn't care either. All he cared about was the fact that he could barely breathe clearly.

"Come on," his attacker ordered the others in the room. "The Headmaster is waiting for us." With that, Potter grabbed the Gryffindor's arm and they disappeared in the blink of an eye.

--  
--  
--

* * *

**A/N#2:** Whoa, McGonagall was drunk!  
Ahh, I will only give you one guess as to who the Headmaster is. Hey, I never said it was Dumbledore, yeh know. But, the old Dumbledore, Snape,and Luna are all still in the castle.  
This chapter was shorter, yep I know that - but, I did want one more out before this becomes total AU. If ya only liked the beginning of this chapter, tell me. If ya only liked the middle, tell me. If you only enjoyed the end, tell me. If you didn't even care for one bit of it, tell me something - give me a way to make it better! I'll be waiting... 

Oh, and I've made a new site for my writing. I don't mind if you look at it or not, I'm just lettin' ya know that it's there. Check my profile page if ya wanna see it. Best wishes, all!

Tilly


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